Morgan Stanley $MS Position Trimmed by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,248,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135,459 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,059,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position 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 worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at improving cost efficiency and operational flexibility — investors may view this as margin‑enhancing over time if execution and one‑time charges are controlled. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research remains active and visible: the firm reinstated Nvidia as a top AI chip pick (showing strong franchise in semiconductor coverage) and has been adjusting price targets for clients such as Grainger and Travelers — positive for recurring research/IB visibility but indirect for MS’s stock performance. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market commentary (saying the U.S. market should outperform and that the S&P 500 rolling correction may be nearing an end) reinforces its investment‑bank research positioning — helpful for business reputation but not an immediate catalyst for MS shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong‑buy” to “hold” — a direct sell‑side signal that can pressure the stock by reducing buy‑side conviction and prompting short‑term selling. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value 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 $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% 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 ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $160.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.14. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The firm has a market cap of $255.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

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.