National Pension Service Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,666,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,390 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.17% of Morgan Stanley worth $423,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after buying an additional 28,420 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $182.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $179.18 and its 200 day moving average is $162.43. The company has a market cap of $290.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights Morgan Stanley’s wealth & asset-management business as a durable, recurring-revenue engine that now accounts for the majority of firm revenues — a structural strength that supports more predictable fee income and helps justify a higher multiple for MS. MS Wealth & Asset Management Moat
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/AmericanBankingNews notes the brokerage consensus on MS is “Moderate Buy,” reflecting broad analyst support after the company’s January quarter results and forward outlook — analyst backing tends to support upward price moves. Consensus Recommendation: Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: President Trump’s reported selection of former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the nominee for Fed chair (Warsh has Morgan Stanley banking ties) is being discussed in the market; any perceived “connection” is indirect and more reputational than financial for MS, so impact is uncertain/likely muted. Warsh Named as Fed Chair
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes and commentary by Morgan Stanley strategists (e.g., observations on bond-market dislocations and sector calls) underline the firm’s active research and trading flow — positive for fee and trading revenue over time but not an immediate catalyst. Morgan Stanley Exec on Bond Market
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: MS insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares at about $182.61 (~$6.0M). The trade reduces his stake materially (reported ~8.45% of his holdings) — sizable insider sales can create short-term selling pressure or signal personal liquidity needs, though one sale alone is not definitive about firm fundamentals. Insider Sale Filing

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.