Viking Fund Management LLC Trims Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.8% in Q4, selling 12,000 shares to hold 90,000 shares valued at about $15.98 million (≈1.9% of the fund and its 10th largest position).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares and Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares on Jan 20, with insiders offloading 129,191 shares (~$23.7M) over the last three months and now owning just 0.19% while institutions own ~84.19%.
• Morgan Stanley maintains an average analyst rating of Hold with an average target of $187.14; it recently beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.68 vs. $2.28) and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend ($4.00 annualized, ~2.4% yield).

Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.9% of Viking Fund Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,311 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $187.14.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $165.90 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $172.57 and its 200 day moving average is $168.93. The stock has a market cap of $263.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect strong Q1 results — Street forecasts point to double‑digit EPS growth heading into the bank’s upcoming Q1 report, which supports the firm’s earnings momentum and valuation backing. Morgan Stanley's Q1 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues to expand in digital assets and tokenization — the firm is building crypto and tokenized equities capabilities (executive interviews and filings), which could open new fee and custody revenue streams over time. Considering Tokenizing Every Asset Class: Morgan Stanley's Oldenburg
• Positive Sentiment: Research team bullish on Europe energy — Morgan Stanley analysts see more upside in European energy stocks as structural supply risks from the Middle East reprice markets; positive for MS’s trading and advisory flows tied to energy clients. Morgan Stanley Sees More Gains Ahead for Europe’s Energy Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flags a hawkish‑rates risk — a note pushing back on Fed cut expectations highlights macro caution; this shapes markets but is a mixed signal for MS (trading/IB benefit from volatility, but equity markets may pull back). Morgan Stanley issues stark warning on Fed rate outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Street coverage shifts and routine analyst activity — Morgan Stanley continues active coverage/price‑target work across the market (e.g., adjustments on third‑party names); these are normal sell‑side flows that can move individual stocks but are not company‑specific for MS. Zacks / analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit stress and fund redemption caps: reports show caps/limits on withdrawals at private‑credit funds and that Morgan Stanley capped redemptions on some products — this raises near‑term asset‑management and reputation risk and could pressure fee income and sentiment. Private credit's ‘zero-loss fantasy' is coming to an end MS caps withdrawals (coverage)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” a near‑term negative for perception and potential fund flows; analyst downgrades can amplify intraday selling even if fundamentals remain intact. Zacks downgrade

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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