Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,804 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake 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 valued at $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and fundamentals remain a tailwind — Morgan Stanley’s recent results and commentary about revenue growth, return on equity and margins underpin the move; investors are re-rating the name as the firm shows solid profitability and diversified revenue. MS Exceeds Market Returns
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade supports near-term buying — Zacks recently upgraded MS to a Strong Buy, which can prompt tactical inflows and lift sentiment among income and dividend-focused investors. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional activity highlights MS’s asset‑management footprint — Morgan Stanley’s 13F filings show it materially increased positions in niche/crypto-related names (e.g., raised its Bitmine (BMNR) stake ~26% in Q4), signaling active portfolio positioning and continued AUM/flows relevance for MS. That institutional demand narrative is supportive for fee income expectations. Morgan Stanley, other top holders add Bitmine exposure amid sell-off
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic narratives — coverage and research commentary from Morgan Stanley (on AI, securitization and crypto links to valuation) underline the firm’s advisory and research franchise but are background drivers rather than immediate earnings levers. Investors should see this as supportive to brand/flow dynamics rather than a direct P&L catalyst. Morgan Stanley Connects Crypto AI And Securitization To Valuation Story
• Neutral Sentiment: MS’s role as an active institutional investor (13F disclosures) shows both buys and trims across many names — useful for gauging portfolio tilt and AUM trends but mixed in immediate impact; watch subsequent quarterly investment-banking and asset-management reporting for revenue follow-through. YETI HOLDINGS ($YETI) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $176.71 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.77. The company has a market cap of $280.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

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.