Gabelli Funds LLC Has $37.16 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Posted by Geri Gentry on May 18th, 2026

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 209,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,682 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $192.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.97. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $123.88 and a 12 month high of $197.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.