Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Increased by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 301,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,215 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 12,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.7% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Finally, First American Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 4,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management says IRA assets under management have topped $1 trillion — a milestone that signals stronger recurring fee income and deeper client relationships, which supports MS’s higher‑margin wealth business and valuation. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in IRA AUM
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for MS’s private infrastructure platform that can generate realized gains, free up capital, and demonstrate MS’s ability to monetize private assets for clients and funds. MSIP Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: Morgan Stanley’s prior quarterly report beat consensus on EPS and revenue growth (solid ROE and margins), reinforcing investor confidence in fee and trading businesses as rates and markets evolve. (Company Q4/Jan earnings context: MS reported an EPS beat and revenue growth in its most recent quarter.)
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research continues to move markets — the firm’s bullish analyst notes on names like Nvidia keep Morgan Stanley visible as a market‑moving research shop, which helps trading and capital markets flow generation but is an indirect driver of MS’s stock. Morgan Stanley Sounds the Bullish Drum on Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is sticking with a June Fed rate‑cut forecast — a macro call that frames expected trading/markets revenue and risk appetite but is subject to evolving oil and macro data; this helps set investor expectations rather than delivering an immediate balance‑sheet effect. MS Sticks With June Rate Cut Call
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research warns AI‑driven disruption in software could push private‑credit defaults higher — a sector‑level risk that could pressure banks and asset managers with private‑credit exposure and add volatility to credit markets (a potential headwind for parts of MS’s asset‑management and lending franchises). MS Warns Private‑Credit Defaults May Rise From AI Disruption

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $158.67 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.