Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Takes $3.67 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter, buying 22,311 shares worth about $3.67 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong Q2 results, with earnings of $3.46 per share and revenue of $21.35 billion, both beating analyst expectations and rising 27.1% from a year earlier.
• The company boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion stock buyback, while several analysts raised price targets after the earnings beat.

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 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 22,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,672,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $215.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $339.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $211.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.71. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $136.17 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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