Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,682 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,443,926,000 after purchasing an additional 249,023 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $168.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.53. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $97.89 and a twelve month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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, February 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) is set to launch on NYSE Arca on April 8 with an ultra‑low 0.14% fee — the bank becomes the first major U.S. commercial bank to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF, which could attract substantial AUM, boost fee revenue and lift the firm’s asset‑management profile. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Set for NYSE Debut This Wednesday
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded MS to a Buy and set a $196 price target, citing profitability and wealth‑management positioning — that upgrade is a near‑term bullish catalyst for investor sentiment. Morgan Stanley Upgraded to Buy by UBS
• Positive Sentiment: Street notes (Jefferies) expect MS to benefit from a trading‑volume surge and steady dealmaking — this supports expectations for a strong Q1 trading/markets quarter and underpins earnings momentum. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seen riding trading boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching private‑credit vehicles (an interval fund and a new fund aimed at dislocated private credit) and has Direct Lending updates — these product launches could grow fee income over time but also expose the bank to private‑credit liquidity risk in the near term. Morgan Stanley Capitalizes On Private Credit Dislocation With New Fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending set a Q1 results call — a signal investors should watch for fund performance and potential fee/AUM disclosures that could influence near‑term revenue guidance. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Sets Q1 2026 Results Call
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed Morgan Stanley price targets (Evercore and BMO to $190; Daiwa lowered to $175) even as Goldman raised its PT to $186 — the cluster of mixed target moves creates short‑term headwinds and could cap upside while the market digests the ETF launch and Q1 outlook. Evercore Lowers Morgan Stanley Price Target to $190

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.