Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,453 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.35. The company has a market cap of $251.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wealth management scale — Morgan Stanley’s wealth arm reported IRA assets under management topping $1 trillion, a milestone that supports recurring fee revenue and client stickiness for MS’s highest‑margin business. MS Wealth Management IRA AUM Crosses $1T
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto product pipeline — Morgan Stanley Investment Management has advanced an S‑1 for a spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca). If approved, the trust could generate new fee income and position MS competitively in digital‑asset product distribution. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Filing Advances
• Positive Sentiment: Research/trading momentum — Morgan Stanley’s research desk has been active, including bullish calls around AI/semiconductor names (e.g., Nvidia). Strong research and trading flow can support investment‑banking and markets revenues in volatile tape. Morgan Stanley Sounds the Bullish Drum on Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/update: Morgan Stanley revised its Fed timing — the firm now expects rate cuts later (September/December), which changes outlook for rates‑sensitive businesses but is a macro view rather than an immediate earnings shock. Morgan Stanley pushes back rate cuts to September and December
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/positioning note — commentary that MS shows rising relative strength but remains shy of a key benchmark is informational for traders assessing momentum, not a company fundamental. Morgan Stanley shows rising relative strength
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit liquidity scare — Morgan Stanley limited redemptions from its North Haven Private Income Fund after a surge in withdrawal requests and flagged rising default risks tied to AI disruption in parts of private credit. That raises short‑term liquidity and reputational risk and could pressure earnings or require provisioning. Morgan Stanley Tests Private Credit Liquidity
• Negative Sentiment: Market‑risk warnings: Morgan Stanley flagged a possible 15%–20% downside for Asian equities if energy risks persist. Those calls reflect the firm’s risk views but also signal potential mark‑to‑market pressure across asset inventories and client portfolios. Morgan Stanley flags 15%–20% downside for Asia stocks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

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.