Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 767,327 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,356,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 767,327 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.45% of Morgan Stanley worth $18,813,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $92,179,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $171.40 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.27. 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 $272.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley is being framed as catalyzing a rebound in technology IPO activity — investors see this as potentially boosting MS’s investment banking fees and market positioning in the tech IPO cycle. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management is reportedly exploring a ~$500M continuation vehicle for India healthcare assets — a sign the firm is leveraging its asset‑management platform to generate fee income and secondary-market activity. That bolsters the revenue mix beyond trading/IB. Morgan Stanley said to consider $500 million India fund, shifts some assets
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Research is publishing bullish thematic work (private AVs, AI/semiconductors and “buy‑the‑dip” views on resilient software names) that supports expectations for advisory and sales flow into technology and infrastructure sectors where MS has coverage and syndication presence. That research momentum can lift investor sentiment. Private AV Startups are About to Take Over U.S. Streets
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., recommended AI‑chip names) and analyst notes highlighting buy opportunities in software/semiconductors help the firm’s visible franchise, but are indirect drivers of near‑term stock moves — they mainly influence flow into sectors MS covers. SNDK or QCOM: Morgan Stanley Picks One Top AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, reporting that CEO Ted Pick’s total pay rose ~32% to ~$45M draws governance and cost scrutiny — some investors interpret large executive pay increases as a potential negative for shareholder alignment and a near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million

About Morgan Stanley

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.