Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,157 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Three research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:MS opened at $171.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $272.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. 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 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $180.86 and a 200-day moving average of $165.12.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley is being framed as catalyzing a rebound in technology IPO activity — investors see this as potentially boosting MS’s investment banking fees and market positioning in the tech IPO cycle. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management is reportedly exploring a ~$500M continuation vehicle for India healthcare assets — a sign the firm is leveraging its asset‑management platform to generate fee income and secondary-market activity. That bolsters the revenue mix beyond trading/IB. Morgan Stanley said to consider $500 million India fund, shifts some assets
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Research is publishing bullish thematic work (private AVs, AI/semiconductors and “buy‑the‑dip” views on resilient software names) that supports expectations for advisory and sales flow into technology and infrastructure sectors where MS has coverage and syndication presence. That research momentum can lift investor sentiment. Private AV Startups are About to Take Over U.S. Streets
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., recommended AI‑chip names) and analyst notes highlighting buy opportunities in software/semiconductors help the firm’s visible franchise, but are indirect drivers of near‑term stock moves — they mainly influence flow into sectors MS covers. SNDK or QCOM: Morgan Stanley Picks One Top AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, reporting that CEO Ted Pick’s total pay rose ~32% to ~$45M draws governance and cost scrutiny — some investors interpret large executive pay increases as a potential negative for shareholder alignment and a near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million

Morgan Stanley Company 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.