Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Cut by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.1% in Q3, selling 15,488 shares and leaving it with 124,216 shares worth $19.745 million per the latest SEC filing.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares (~$6.02M) and Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares (~$3.69M), with insiders offloading 129,191 shares worth $23.74M over the past 90 days.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly expectations with EPS $2.68 vs. $2.28 and revenue of $17.90B (up 10.3% YoY), pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.5% yield), and holds a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $185.93 price target.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,488 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 6,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. 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 ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $160.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $254.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.20 and its 200 day moving average is $167.85.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an updated S‑1 / SEC amendment advancing its planned spot Bitcoin ETF (naming Coinbase custody and BNY Mellon roles). That materially increases the firm’s potential fee pool (trading, custody, securities lending) if approved — a strategic growth lever beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Files Updated SEC Amendment for Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley provided financing (initial $500M, expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific for data center/AI infrastructure, demonstrating growth in corporate lending and structured finance opportunities tied to AI/crypto infrastructure. That can add fee and interest income if credit performance holds. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Public commentary from Morgan Stanley events (tech/AI conferences) keeps the firm visible as an advisor/market‑maker in tech and AI financing; useful for long‑term franchise positioning but not an immediate earnings surprise. Morgan Stanley's top tech banker: It's 'wartime, not peacetime' for software
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 roles (~3% of workforce) across divisions. Markets often react negatively to broad layoffs because they signal restructuring risk, potential disruption to revenue growth and near‑term execution uncertainty even if they imply future cost savings. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Investor flow appears to favor trimming MS exposure amid the headlines; analysts and market commentators are re‑assessing near‑term margins and execution risk despite record revenues in 2025 — producing downward pressure on the share price today. Morgan Stanley Cuts 3% Workforce Despite Record Revenues in 2025

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.93.

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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