Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 14.3% in the first quarter, selling 27,722 shares and leaving it with 165,975 shares valued at about $27.3 million.
• Morgan Stanley’s stock has strong institutional backing overall, with 84.19% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutions, and several large investors recently increased their positions.
• The company has recently posted strong earnings, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, and authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,722 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.8% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,648,354,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $511,723,000 after buying an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.80.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported blockbuster Q2 2026 results, with record net revenues of about $21.3 billion and earnings that beat expectations, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core businesses. Morgan Stanley (MS) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenues and Strategic Growth ...
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, a 15% increase from the prior quarter, which signals confidence in earnings power and capital return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the earnings release, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its price target to $250 and Erste Group lifting FY2027 EPS estimates, suggesting more upside may remain. Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00
• Neutral Sentiment: New reports also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE crypto rollout and AI-related market activity, which could help broaden its platform appeal over time but are not likely the main short-term drivers of the stock move.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles noted a downgrade-style view from Seeking Alpha and a JPMorgan target below the current share price, which may temper enthusiasm at the margin even after the strong earnings beat. Morgan Stanley Maintains Hold on Comstock Resources, Keeps Price Target Unchanged at $16 Amid Cash Outspend and Funding Concerns

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MS opened at $215.27 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year high of $232.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $211.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $339.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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