Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $1.56 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 67.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after buying an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 150.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,651 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $104,097,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Retail IPO win for E*Trade — reports say Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade is in talks to lead retail distribution for the SpaceX IPO. If finalized this would bring meaningful underwriting/distribution fees and retail trading activity to MS’s wealth platform. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Growing alternatives push — coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s moves (EquityZen deal, bigger private credit effort) to expand alternatives AUM. That strategy supports higher-fee, stickier revenue and improves MS’s long‑term wealth/asset-management growth profile. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Spot Bitcoin ETF plan referenced — market commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s announcement of a soon-to-launch spot BTC ETF as a catalyst for renewed institutional flows into crypto ETFs. Launching/operating crypto ETFs can create new fee pools and boost trading/investment banking positioning. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Research credibility / trading flow signal — Morgan Stanley has publicly elevated Meta to a top pick and published bullish sector/stock calls (cybersecurity picks, upgrades). Strong, visible research calls can drive client trading and institutional flows that help trading revenue and advisory mandates. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price‑target updates on other names — Morgan Stanley research trimmed targets on select coverage (e.g., Futu) and raised/trimmed targets on other names. These are normal research flows that reinforce MS’s role as a major Wall Street shop but have only indirect impact on MS’s own earnings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm-level product/coverage notes (Unity PT lift, FactSet ratings) — ongoing analyst updates (PT increases, hold ratings) signal active research engagement; useful for franchise perception but limited immediate P&L impact for MS itself. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Strategists urge defensive positioning — Morgan Stanley strategists publicly advised increasing cash and Treasuries amid geopolitical risk. That caution can reduce client risk-taking and equity trading volumes in the short term, which may weigh on trading revenue. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational / compliance sensitivity — FT reported a Morgan Stanley wealth advisor approached BlackRock on behalf of a government official before a geopolitical event, a story that can create short‑term reputational scrutiny in wealth management. Investors may watch for any follow‑up disclosures. Read More.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $164.27 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.22. The company has a market cap of $260.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. 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 twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

About Morgan Stanley

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.