Invesco Ltd. Has $1.44 Billion Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,023 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.57% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,443,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $154.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value 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 represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.14.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent quarterly results showed an EPS and revenue beat and continued scale in wealth and investment-management businesses, supporting underlying profitability (a fundamental anchor amid the selloff).
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is seeing strong deal flow in Asia and has hired contract staff in Hong Kong to handle a surge in listings — evidence of fee-generating activity that may help near-term revenue. Morgan Stanley hires contract staff in Hong Kong (Reuters)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley adjusted some institutional stakes (e.g., trimming its Siemens Energy voting stake) — a portfolio move that is not clearly positive or negative for near-term earnings but worth monitoring for strategic positioning. MS trims Siemens Energy stake (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Primary near-term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at a private-credit fund after large withdrawal requests, stoking fears about private-credit liquidity and contagion across alternative-credit managers — a direct hit to investor confidence in MS’s asset-management/private-credit franchise. MS restricts redemptions at private-credit fund (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector and macro pressure: financial stocks have pulled back on repricing of rate and Fed expectations; Morgan Stanley is trading like other large banks despite no new earnings miss, reflecting macro-driven de-risking. MS slides as financials weaken (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals & positioning: volume is elevated vs. average (heavier trading), the stock is below its 50‑day moving average and showing sensitivity to sector outflows — this amplifies downside in a risk-off session.

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.