Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,333 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $62,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 196,223 shares of company stock valued at $34,150,220. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.2%

MS opened at $179.02 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $176.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.04. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The stock has a market cap of $284.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

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.