Korea Investment CORP Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 789,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 156,109 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $125,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth approximately $3,919,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 220.0% during 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. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,791,000 after buying an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 6,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $160.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $178.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.85. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an updated S‑1 / SEC amendment advancing its planned spot Bitcoin ETF (naming Coinbase custody and BNY Mellon roles). That materially increases the firm’s potential fee pool (trading, custody, securities lending) if approved — a strategic growth lever beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Files Updated SEC Amendment for Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley provided financing (initial $500M, expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific for data center/AI infrastructure, demonstrating growth in corporate lending and structured finance opportunities tied to AI/crypto infrastructure. That can add fee and interest income if credit performance holds. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Public commentary from Morgan Stanley events (tech/AI conferences) keeps the firm visible as an advisor/market‑maker in tech and AI financing; useful for long‑term franchise positioning but not an immediate earnings surprise. Morgan Stanley’s top tech banker: It’s ‘wartime, not peacetime’ for software
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 roles (~3% of workforce) across divisions. Markets often react negatively to broad layoffs because they signal restructuring risk, potential disruption to revenue growth and near‑term execution uncertainty even if they imply future cost savings. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Investor flow appears to favor trimming MS exposure amid the headlines; analysts and market commentators are re‑assessing near‑term margins and execution risk despite record revenues in 2025 — producing downward pressure on the share price today. Morgan Stanley Cuts 3% Workforce Despite Record Revenues in 2025

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.