Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires 4,940 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $71,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,005,000 after acquiring an additional 749,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $175.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $180.35 and its 200-day moving average is $166.25. The company has a market cap of $278.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 earnings beat — Morgan Stanley reported $2.68 diluted EPS (above $2.28 consensus) and $17.9B revenue (above consensus), with profit and ROE improving versus year-ago results. That beat supports valuation multiples and investor confidence in core businesses. Morgan Stanley Q4 2025 earnings (Quiver)
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is cutting transaction fees on private-share trading via its EquityZen marketplace, widening access to private markets for clients and potentially increasing platform volume and AUM-driven fees over time. This is a strategic, client-facing fee action that supports recurring fee growth. MS press release: EquityZen fee reduction
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning and research influence — filings and press coverage show Morgan Stanley increasing certain crypto-related stakes (e.g., BitMine) and remaining active with analyst coverage (initiations/ratings across GE, CoreWeave, etc.). These activities highlight diversified revenue/alpha generation but carry mixed risk/reward. Wall Street boosts Bitmine stakes (Cointelegraph)
• Neutral Sentiment: Research calls can move sectors — recent Morgan Stanley analyst notes (e.g., cautious stance ahead of CoreWeave earnings, new coverage of GE Aerospace) underscore the firm’s market influence; that can amplify short-term flows but is not a direct corporate catalyst for MS itself. TipRanks: Morgan Stanley on CoreWeave
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal risk — reporting that Morgan Stanley opened accounts for Epstein-related trusts as late as 2019 could raise regulatory or reputational questions and short-term investor caution, particularly if follow-up scrutiny or legal exposure emerges. Yahoo Finance: Morgan Stanley opened accounts for Epstein trusts
• Negative Sentiment: Cash-flow and insider activity flagged in the quarter — while EPS/revenue beat, cash from operating activities swung materially negative (reported roughly -$2.4B) and the company disclosed multiple insider stock sales in recent filings. Those items can temper enthusiasm and are reasons some investors may trim positions despite the headline beat. Morgan Stanley Q4 2025 earnings (Quiver)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.