Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 3,200 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 106.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,754,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.2% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. 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: Q4 earnings beat and strong fees: MS posted $2.68 EPS (above estimates) and reported revenue of ~$17.9B with investment‑banking revenue rising ~47% year‑over‑year — a clear driver behind the rally. Morgan Stanley Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sector/peer momentum: Strong results at peers (Goldman, others) and a broader market lift from chip/tech earnings helped financial ETFs and bank stocks, amplifying Morgan Stanley’s move. Stocks Finish Higher As Chip, Bank Stocks Drive Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward pipeline: Management and street coverage point to a bigger 2026 IPO/deal pipeline and ongoing wealth‑management growth (AUM ~ $9.3T), suggesting revenues could stay elevated if markets and deal activity persist. Morgan Stanley Sees 2026 IPO Wave, CFO Flags Bigger Pipeline, Broader Dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: many firms reaffirm buy/overweight stances or raise targets on banks, but some note that strong fundamentals may already be priced in — raising the risk of “sell the news” moves after the beat. Morgan Stanley Q4 Review: Strong Fundamentals Priced In (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Cash‑flow and insider selling flagged: while EPS beat, Quiver/filings flagged a material swing to negative operating cash flow (roughly -$3.3B) and notable insider sales over recent months — items that could concern value/longer‑term investors. Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $191.04 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $303.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $174.68 and a 200-day moving average of $159.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

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.