State of Michigan Retirement System Has $52.16 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,800 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $52,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.82. 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 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. 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: Q4 results & valuation check: recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings and a rebound in investment banking activity — the core drivers cited for the stock’s move as investors price in stronger fee revenue and improved outlook. Morgan Stanley valuation check
• Positive Sentiment: Index positioning: a note that Morgan Stanley is positioned among Russell 1000 ETF constituents supports expectations of incremental passive inflows if/when indices are rebalanced — a technical bid to shares. MS Positioned Among Russell 1000 ETF Constituents
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory momentum: Morgan Stanley topped power-sector M&A advisory in 2025 — evidence its advisory pipeline and fee generation are strong, reinforcing the investment-banking recovery narrative. That supports revenue diversification beyond markets. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows / stake moves: a small buy by Linscomb Wealth marginally increased MS holdings — a minor positive signal about demand from wealth managers but not material to stock direction. Linscomb Wealth purchases MS shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking pipeline evidence: Morgan Stanley appears among anchor/backer activity on deals (e.g., Fractal Analytics IPO anchor interest), underscoring continued capital-markets engagement — supportive over time but not an immediate share-mover. Fractal Analytics anchor investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI trimmed Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold” — a near-term headwind for sentiment that can cap upside until guidance/earnings prove durable. Evercore downgrade / Zacks note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector costs & policy risk: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased lobbying as policy fights heat up — a reminder of rising regulatory/policy risk and possible higher compliance costs that affect all large banks, including MS. Banks boost Washington lobbying

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.