Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Has $34.39 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 216,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,213 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.7% of Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $154.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Selected as one of the Wall Street banks involved in a large Pentagon/defense financing initiative — a potential source of advisory fees and franchise work. Pentagon taps Morgan Stanley for defense initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research/public commentary on AI and macro trends keeps the firm visible to institutional clients and supports its wealth & investment‑management franchise positioning. That can help offset short‑term trading volatility. Morgan Stanley: AI Revolution Set to Disrupt Jobs and Energy Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm commentary on monetary policy (warning that rate cuts are unlikely soon) is driving market context rather than company-specific flows — it influences investor expectations for bank earnings broadly. Don’t Expect Interest Rate Cuts Anytime Soon, Says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/positioning adjustment that is informational but not material to core operating results. Morgan Stanley Trims Siemens Energy Voting Stake
• Negative Sentiment: The primary near‑term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑income/private‑credit fund after investors requested ~10.9% in redemptions; the fund honored a 5% quarterly repurchase cap. That gating triggered investor concern about private‑credit liquidity and valuation transparency and was the proximate cause of a multi‑percent selloff in MS and other alternative‑asset managers. Morgan Stanley restricts redemptions at private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit contagion and gating at other managers (Cliffwater, BlackRock coverage) amplified sector risk — investors rotated out of financials and alternative‑asset exposure on worries about defaults, liquidity and mark‑to‑model valuations. Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater limit private credit withdrawals (FT)
• Negative Sentiment: Negative sentiment was reinforced on social channels and media coverage, which likely exacerbated intraday selling pressure and short‑term volatility even though underlying wealth & advisory metrics remain more stable. Wall Street’s Own Stock Is Getting Hammered on Reddit

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.