Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 60.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,736 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $42,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at $21,690,826.24. This represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

MS stock opened at $157.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $250.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.49.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced it surpassed $1 trillion in IRA assets under management — a credibility and fee-growth milestone for the advisory business that supports recurring revenue and investor confidence. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in Individual Retirement Account Assets Under Management
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure arm agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for its private infrastructure platform that can improve reported results for MSIM and validate deal execution. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Industry reports are highlighting Morgan Stanley among attractive investment‑bank names as trading, underwriting and advisory momentum improve — supportive for valuation multiples across the group. 3 Investment Bank Stocks to Buy From a Flourishing Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s own macro views (e.g., sticking with a June rate‑cut call) help frame expectations for net interest income and market activity — this is a mixed but market-moving stance that traders will digest alongside Fed expectations. Morgan Stanley Sticks With June Rate Cut Call as Oil Surges
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists (notably Mike Wilson) have warned the market may not have bottomed — that bearish research can pressure cyclical financial names if investors rotate to defensives. Stocks haven’t hit bottom yet, says the analyst who called a ‘rolling recession’ when everyone else saw a boom
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged broader risks in private credit from AI-driven disruption — commentary that could raise concerns about MS’s exposure through credit and alternative‑asset businesses. Investors will watch for how the firm hedges or discloses that exposure. Morgan Stanley says AI disruption of software will send private credit defaults surging

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.