4,068 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 89.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: The recent selloff has moderated, while options-market positioning points to a potential move toward approximately $205. Stronger-than-expected results or constructive guidance could support a rebound. Morgan Stanley stock selloff cools ahead of earnings, options market targets $205
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and State Street are reporting together, making results in wealth management, asset management and custody important indicators for the broader financial-services sector. Investors are likely to focus particularly on the key metric that demonstrates whether higher rates are weighing on activity and profitability. Wealth, Assets and Custody: What to Watch When Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and State Street Report
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are becoming marginally less optimistic: Erste Group Bank reduced its FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.79 from $12.83 and maintained a Hold rating. The revised estimate remains close to the broader consensus of $12.66, but signals limited near-term earnings momentum. Morgan Stanley analyst estimate update
• Negative Sentiment: Rising Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and elevated energy prices are tightening financial conditions. Investors are concerned that this environment could restrain dealmaking and lending growth while increasing funding costs, offsetting the benefit of higher interest income. The bond market is doing the Fed’s job, says Morgan Stanley strategist

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $2.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $187.92. 3,203,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,132,557. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $296.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $151.88 and a 12 month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.43.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.