10,307 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Wealth Partners acquired 10,307 Morgan Stanley shares valued at approximately $1.7 million, while institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.46 beating estimates and revenue rising 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $224.50.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share-buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15, equivalent to a 2.2% annual yield; shares opened at $211.82, down 1.3% and below their 52-week high.

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,696,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares in the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $1,260,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $116,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $8,854,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched the MSSE Ethereum Trust and MSOL Solana Trust on NYSE Arca. Both products charge a 0.14% expense ratio and intend to stake assets, passing staking rewards to investors. The products expand Morgan Stanley’s digital-asset platform beyond its bitcoin offering and could generate new fee revenue. Morgan Stanley expands crypto lineup with Ether, Solana ETPs
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s strong position in the investment-banking and trading boom. The firm advised on 15 construction-related transactions worth $81.3 billion in the first half of 2026, reinforcing its competitive position in mergers and acquisitions. Morgan Stanley leads construction M&A advisory in H1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists remain constructive on artificial-intelligence investment, arguing that major technology companies’ substantial AI spending could ultimately produce strong returns and improve profit margins. This supports continued advisory, financing and trading opportunities for MS, although the view primarily benefits its corporate clients. Morgan Stanley says AI investment could generate strong returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is among the anchor investors in Manipal Health Enterprises’ planned Indian IPO, which raised Rs 4,167 crore from anchor investors. The deal may provide advisory, underwriting or distribution revenue, but its near-term financial impact on MS was not disclosed. Manipal Health IPO anchor investment
• Negative Sentiment: The positive company-specific news has not offset likely profit-taking and broader risk reduction across financial and technology stocks. Morgan Stanley’s shares remain near their 52-week high, leaving valuation and market-sentiment concerns as potential reasons investors are selling despite the firm’s strong prior earnings and expanding fee opportunities.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE MS opened at $211.82 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $214.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.37. The firm has a market cap of $334.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm 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 company posted $2.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

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