Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC

Key Points

• Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 64.9% in Q3, selling 558,000 shares and retaining 302,000 shares valued at about $48.01 million.
• Morgan Stanley beat expectations for the quarter with $2.68 EPS versus $2.28 expected and $17.90 billion in revenue, a 10.3% year‑over‑year increase.
• The firm capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑credit fund after roughly 10.9% in withdrawal requests, a move that spurred investor concern and a multi‑percent selloff in MS and other alternative‑asset managers.

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 302,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 558,000 shares during the quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $48,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:MS opened at $154.84 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $245.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.26.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Selected as one of the Wall Street banks involved in a large Pentagon/defense financing initiative — a potential source of advisory fees and franchise work. Pentagon taps Morgan Stanley for defense initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research/public commentary on AI and macro trends keeps the firm visible to institutional clients and supports its wealth & investment‑management franchise positioning. That can help offset short‑term trading volatility. Morgan Stanley: AI Revolution Set to Disrupt Jobs and Energy Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm commentary on monetary policy (warning that rate cuts are unlikely soon) is driving market context rather than company-specific flows — it influences investor expectations for bank earnings broadly. Don’t Expect Interest Rate Cuts Anytime Soon, Says Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed a voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/positioning adjustment that is informational but not material to core operating results. Morgan Stanley Trims Siemens Energy Voting Stake
• Negative Sentiment: The primary near‑term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at its North Haven private‑income/private‑credit fund after investors requested ~10.9% in redemptions; the fund honored a 5% quarterly repurchase cap. That gating triggered investor concern about private‑credit liquidity and valuation transparency and was the proximate cause of a multi‑percent selloff in MS and other alternative‑asset managers. Morgan Stanley restricts redemptions at private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit contagion and gating at other managers (Cliffwater, BlackRock coverage) amplified sector risk — investors rotated out of financials and alternative‑asset exposure on worries about defaults, liquidity and mark‑to‑model valuations. Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater limit private credit withdrawals (FT)
• Negative Sentiment: Negative sentiment was reinforced on social channels and media coverage, which likely exacerbated intraday selling pressure and short‑term volatility even though underlying wealth & advisory metrics remain more stable. Wall Street’s Own Stock Is Getting Hammered on Reddit

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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