Stratos Investment Management LLC Has $9.25 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

04 Apr 2026, 11:44 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 156.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,819 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,311 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $166.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $169.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.24.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.73.

Read Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley signaled a near‑term launch for a bitcoin ETF after filing Amendment No. 4 — a potential positive for future asset‑management AUM and fee revenue if the product attracts institutional flows. Morgan Stanley Signals Bitcoin ETF Near Launch
Positive Sentiment: Analyst/research coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings‑surprise history and argues MS is positioned to beat again — this underpins investor confidence in MS’s core wealth & investment banking franchise and its recurring advisory/trading revenue. Will Morgan Stanley (MS) Beat Estimates Again?
Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research published an “earnings‑surprise composite” and a list of stocks poised for surprises — a reminder MS’s research product can drive client engagement and trading flow but is not an immediate earnings event for the bank itself. These 10 stocks are poised for earnings surprises in April: Morgan Stanley
Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley released its monthly sector‑rotation study — useful for gauging client retail flows and sentiment across sectors but unlikely to move MS’s stock on its own. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
Negative Sentiment: Market commentary highlights recent soft share‑price performance and a modest pullback over the past quarter — valuation and short‑term momentum concerns could limit upside near term. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation After Recent Soft Share Price Performance
Negative Sentiment: Recent MS research activity (downgrades/target trims on other companies, e.g., Bank of America, Lufthansa coverage) signals a more cautious macro/sector stance from the bank’s analysts — this can reduce risk appetite in the short term and slightly dampen trading commissions tied to volatile sectors. Morgan Stanley Trims BAC Target to $61

About Morgan Stanley

(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.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.