Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Increased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 790,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $125,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 52,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 6,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the third quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.2% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,385,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,242,000 after purchasing an additional 68,450 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $177.46 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20.

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 net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong capital returns and balance-sheet cushion support the rally — coverage notes Morgan Stanley ended 2025 with a large liquidity cushion and a $20B buyback plan (about $17.4B still available) alongside an 8% dividend increase, which investors view as shareholder-friendly and supportive of the stock. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley asset-management product update — Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) reported Q4 results and declared a dividend, underscoring fee-income/alternative-asset momentum inside MS’s wealth & asset-management franchises. That supports the idea of more stable fee streams. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals: MS beat Q4/Jan-quarter EPS and revenue expectations (January 15 release) and consensus still models mid‑single-digit earnings growth for the year — that underlying operating beat remains a tailwind for sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-performance commentary and analyst attention — coverage noting MS has outperformed the S&P recently can attract momentum flows but also raises expectations for continued delivery. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory / institutional moves — filings show Morgan Stanley altering some substantial‑holder positions in third parties, a normal part of portfolio/institutional activity; watch for any larger balance-sheet or trading-book disclosures. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in PLS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Advisor‑recruiting and wealth‑channel costs are a material headwind — Barron’s highlights rising recruiting costs for advisors at Morgan Stanley, which can pressure margins in the Wealth Management segment and temper near‑term earnings leverage. That is likely constraining part of the valuation multiple today. Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.