Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 772,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,696 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.5% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $123,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $179.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm 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 earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 196,223 shares of company stock worth $34,150,220. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

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.