X Square Capital LLC Takes $855,000 Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

23 Aug 2026, 11:15 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

X Square Capital LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE MS opened at $214.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.12. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $144.67 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

View Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its gold outlook, arguing that gold’s recent breakout could extend higher and forecasting prices above $5,000 per ounce by 2027. A stronger commodities outlook could benefit the firm’s trading, wealth-management and investment-banking businesses. Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on Gold After Breakout
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reportedly selected Dallas for a major expansion outside New York City. The move could improve long-term operating flexibility, expand access to talent and support growth in a lower-cost financial center. Morgan Stanley said to pick Dallas for expansion outside NYC
Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to position itself in emerging investment products, including an Ethereum exchange-traded product that offers staking yield. This may broaden fee-generating opportunities and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s digital-asset platform.
Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research highlighted a projected 38-gigawatt power shortfall for AI data centers, identifying potential opportunities in industrial, energy and infrastructure financing. The report may support future advisory and capital-markets activity, but it does not represent a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says AI Data Centers Face a 38-Gigawatt Power Gap
Negative Sentiment: The Ethereum product also exposes investors to staking-related risks, including slashing penalties, provider risk and withdrawal delays. These concerns could limit adoption or increase reputational and operational risk. Morgan Stanley Put Ethereum Yield in an ETP. Who Carries the Risk?
Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank hired Morgan Stanley’s top Canadian banker, a competitive setback that could affect Morgan Stanley’s Canadian investment-banking and precious-metals operations. Scotiabank hires Morgan Stanley’s top Canada banker Richard Tory

Morgan Stanley Profile

(Free Report)

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.