Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,246 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $116,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after acquiring an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,926,000 after acquiring an additional 249,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MS stock opened at $188.95 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.67. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $104.78 and a 1-year high of $194.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the sale, 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 195,549 shares of company stock valued at $36,260,510 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: revenue and EPS surprised on the upside, driven by strong trading and investment‑banking performance and continued wealth‑management flows — the core earnings beat is the primary driver of investor optimism. MS Q1 Deep Dive: Wealth and Investment Banking Deliver
• Positive Sentiment: MSBT (Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF) has drawn >$100M in its first week — a fast start that supports asset‑gathering momentum and fee diversification at the firm. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Tops $100 Million in Six Days
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is increasing MS valuation assumptions: several firms raised price targets and upgraded outlooks after Q1 (Bank of America, Evercore, Argus, Keefe Bruyette & Woods among them), which supports further upside narratives. Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend and capital return: Morgan Stanley announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30), signaling confidence in cash generation and returning capital to shareholders (income‑supporting but not an earnings catalyst).
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing investment banking / underwriting activity (including large debt syndications) highlights the firm’s franchise utility in markets — positive for fee pipelines but cyclically sensitive to capital‑markets activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational overhang: Senator Elizabeth Warren requested Fed records tied to a Fed nominee’s past actions that reference Morgan Stanley; while not an immediate earnings issue, it increases political/regulatory headline risk. Elizabeth Warren Challenges Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts still express caution: a few firms kept conservative ratings or raised PTs while maintaining neutral/hold views (e.g., HSBC/Rothschild adjustments), which can cap near‑term upside and prompt mixed trading. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Morgan Stanley

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.