First National Bank of Omaha Purchases New Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 32,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,209,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Morgan Stanley to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), signalling near‑term optimism from a well‑known independent screener and likely boosting buy‑side interest. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged a roughly $45B “hidden” cybersecurity opportunity — a high‑profile thematic call that showcases the firm’s research monetization and helps position MS as a go‑to advisor on secular tech spending trends. Morgan Stanley flags $45B hidden cybersecurity opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: MarketWatch highlighted Morgan Stanley strategy views (the “HALO” trade on hard assets), increasing the firm’s public profile and supporting investor perception of its macro/research franchise. That visibility can lift trading flows and fee outlooks. Why the ‘HALO’ trade boosting hard assets is no fluke, according to Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: MS continues to be active in analyst coverage (e.g., adjusting price targets and opinions on names like Twilio and Alibaba). That keeps the firm in headlines and generates transaction/commission activity, but those headlines are stock‑specific rather than direct drivers of MS fundamentals. Morgan Stanley Reduces PT on Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Stock Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Stay Positive on Alibaba (BABA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors also reference Morgan Stanley’s January results (beat on EPS and revenue growth) as a baseline for current sentiment — a supportive but already‑priced factor. (See company filings/earnings commentary for details.)
• Negative Sentiment: Critical coverage on parts of MS’s business (e.g., commentary urging patience on direct‑lending initiatives) could dampen enthusiasm for certain fee streams or credit exposures and introduce near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending – Be Patient

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $171.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.70. 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 $272.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.