Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 68.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,514 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $171.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The company has a market capitalization of $272.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s “HALO” trade thesis argues hard-assets and non-digital sectors should see sustained inflows this year — a view that supports trading and asset-management fee opportunities for the firm. Why the ‘HALO’ trade boosting hard assets is no fluke, according to Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: MS research flags a roughly $45B “hidden” cybersecurity investment opportunity — a large thematic runway that can drive underwriting, M&A advisory and asset-management mandates. Morgan Stanley flags $45B hidden cybersecurity opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Firm commentary that it is leaning into AI and tech IPOs signals a potentially strong deal pipeline (underwriting and advisory fees) even as valuations remain watchable — a constructive mix for investment-banking revenue. Morgan Stanley Leans On AI And Tech IPOs As Valuation Stays Watchable
• Positive Sentiment: Hiring blockchain engineers to integrate Ethereum, Polygon, Canton and Hyperledger shows MS investing in infrastructure to expand institutional crypto custody, trading and client services — potential new revenue streams. Morgan Stanley Hiring Blockchain Engineers to Integrate Ethereum, Polygon, Canton, and Hyperledger
• Neutral Sentiment: MS analyst activity (e.g., lowering a price target on Twilio) reflects normal research rotation and company-level calls that are unlikely to materially affect Morgan Stanley’s own stock. Morgan Stanley Reduces PT on Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research warnings — such as execution risk on the Santander–Webster deal or notes on AI disruption in Europe — reflect broader market analysis and reinforce MS’s role as a sell-side advisor but don’t directly change MS’s fundamentals. Santander (SAN) and Webster Deal Faces Execution Risk, Says Morgan Stanley

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

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.