Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $6.90 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Sarasin & Partners LLP cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 324,735 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,075,000 after buying an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $176.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $281.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $181.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.90.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. Research 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 was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS is widely reported as a front‑runner to lead the SpaceX IPO — a lead role would bring large underwriting fees and prestige that typically lift investment‑banking revenue expectations. Morgan Stanley seen as front-runner for SpaceX IPO, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support has picked up: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and others keep favorable ratings and recent coverage includes a higher price target, reinforcing buyside momentum. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Morgan Stanley Price Target to $202.00
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing analyst activity from large brokerages (including Morgan Stanley’s own research upgrades on major tech names) highlights the firm’s influential research footprint — a plus for institutional distribution and trading flows. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Accenture (ACN) to Overweight, Raises Target to $320
• Neutral Sentiment: MS is approaching its Q4 reporting window; previews expect single‑digit EPS growth — that lowers the bar but keeps upside tied to trading and underwriting beats. Morgan Stanley Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry commentary (Zacks / sector pieces) flags investment banks as beneficiaries of better trading and underwriting markets — supportive context but not unique to MS. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Investment Banking Industry
• Negative Sentiment: Not all signals are uniformly bullish — there was a near‑term pullback/weakness noted in commentary yesterday, underscoring that momentum could reverse if trading revenue or deal news disappoints. Morgan Stanley (MS) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.77.

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.