Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE MS opened at $165.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic crypto expansion — Morgan Stanley has been public about a multi-year buildout of its digital-asset capabilities (internal hires, ETF filings and retail access via E*Trade), which can create new fee streams and retail flows for the firm. Morgan Stanley Says Wall Street’s Crypto Move Took Years
• Positive Sentiment: Asset-management realization / EM private-equity exit — Morgan Stanley Investment Management announced a portfolio exit (Huel acquisition by Danone), illustrating the group’s ability to monetize PE/1GT holdings, which supports fee/incentive income and IM performance. 1GT Portfolio Investment Huel to be Acquired by Danone
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend/steady fundamentals narrative — coverage pieces highlighting Morgan Stanley as an attractive dividend/blue‑chip bank with recent earnings beats support yield-seeking demand and steady investor interest. Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Market/earnings context — broader market coverage notes MS outperformed the market on recent sessions (helpful for sentiment) but this reflects general tape moves as much as firm-specific news. Morgan Stanley (MS) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Private-credit liquidity action — reports that Morgan Stanley (and peers) capped withdrawals at certain private-credit vehicles signal industry stress and potential reputational/regulatory scrutiny for managers; that could pressure asset-management AUM and performance fees if flows/valuations deteriorate. Morgan Stanley (MS) and Cliffwater LLC Cap Withdrawals from Multibillion-dollar Private Credit Funds

Morgan Stanley Company 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.