Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,696 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.2% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $542,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 8,776 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: Morgan Stanley acting as the intermediary on Nordea’s multi-market share buyback signals fee income from corporate services and capital markets work (a direct revenue stream). Nordea Continues Multi-Market Share Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Research-led trade flow: Morgan Stanley named Seagate (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) as 2026 picks tied to rising cloud capex — research calls that often generate trading and institutional client activity. MS names Seagate Core 2026 pick MS names Western Digital Top Pick
• Positive Sentiment: Broker research influence: Morgan Stanley upgraded MCX to Equal Weight and raised its target sharply, which pushed that stock higher — a reminder MS research still moves markets and can drive trading volume. MCX upgraded by Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: UiPath upgrade (after a strong quarter) and other sector calls underline active coverage but are mixed for near-term MS revenue impact — good for recurring research fees and institutional engagement but not an immediate EPS swing. UiPath upgraded by Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Ramkrishna Forgings bulk deal: Morgan Stanley purchased ~Rs95 crore worth of shares in a block trade — shows client/dealer activity but is routine trading flow. Ramkrishna Forgings bulk deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Chubb outlook update: Morgan Stanley tweaked targets but kept an Equal Weight — consistent analyst activity that maintains sell‑side relevance without signalling big directional risk to MS itself. Chubb outlook updated
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on PayPal (PYPL) and has recorded some downgrades on other names (e.g., Atmos Energy), reflecting a cautious stance in parts of coverage — that tone can temper investor enthusiasm for cyclical trading revenue. MS reduces PT on PayPal Atmos Energy mixed calls
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s published AI research warning that 200,000 European banking jobs are at risk by 2030 could heighten concerns about industry disruption and near‑term headcount/revenue uncertainty across banks (a sector headwind). AI forecast on banking jobs

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $178.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.49. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $182.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.77.

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.