APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 188,836 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 906,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 188,836 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $144,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an application with the OCC to charter a new bank unit supporting crypto back‑office activity — a signal management is building regulated infrastructure (custody, settlement) that could open new fee pools if regulators approve and demand scales. Morgan Stanley’s OCC Application Is Wall Street Colonizing Crypto’s Back Office
• Positive Sentiment: Separate reporting says MS is exploring “full‑stack” digital‑asset services (bitcoin custody, trading, lending and yield) — moves that position the bank to monetize institutional crypto demand and diversify revenue beyond traditional trading/advisory. Morgan Stanley Explores Full-Stack Digital Asset Services, Including Bitcoin Lending
• Positive Sentiment: MS appears among major institutions now advising modest Bitcoin allocations (1–5%) for portfolios — that endorsement (and MS research coverage) supports ongoing client demand and validates the bank’s strategy to offer crypto products. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley Support Bitcoin Stakes
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley disclosed a roughly 4.25% voting stake in Siemens Energy — a portfolio/strategic holding that is newsworthy but not an immediate operating catalyst for MS core businesses. Morgan Stanley Discloses 4.25% Voting Stake in Siemens Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s direct‑lending arm reported Q4 results and declared a dividend — a reminder MS has sizable alternative‑assets exposure (private credit) that supports fee income but also ties the franchise to credit‑mark volatility. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Primary negative driver today is a sector‑wide risk‑off selloff hitting large banks; MS is moving with peers as investors rotate out of cyclical financials amid macro/A.I. recession‑narrative fears rather than fresh company news. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile insider and executive selling (documented filings discussed in market commentary) is amplifying caution; heavy insider dispositions can weigh on sentiment even if legally executed. Morgan Stanley slides as risk-off selling hits big banks again

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $166.20 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The company has a market cap of $263.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.