Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 354,871 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.2% of Schroder Investment Management Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.61% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,543,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.5%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.02. The firm has a market cap of $254.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.18%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is advising on Pearson’s revised £350M buyback execution alongside Citi — a fee-generating capital‑markets engagement that supports advisory revenue. Pearson Refines £350 Million Buyback With Citi And Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Major banks including Morgan Stanley are moving toward Bitcoin integration — a potential growth area for wealth and institutional products that could expand fees and AUM over time. Crypto Weekend Round-Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research team continues active coverage and re-rating of large names (e.g., upgrade of Novo Nordisk to Equal Weight) — reinforces MS’s research franchise but has limited direct impact on MS shares. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) to Equal Weight From Underweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro research from MS (saying U.S. equity outperformance will continue) signals the firm’s market views and supports its wealth‑management positioning, but it’s a thematic rather than a company‑specific driver. Why Morgan Stanley says U.S. outperformance will continue
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts continue to publish sector calls (e.g., maintaining a Sell on Rivian) — underscores active research/product flow but is not a material driver for MS equity itself. Rivian: Strategic Progress Undermined by Near‑Term Demand, Execution, and Valuation Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced a reduction of about 2,500 jobs (~3% of staff) as part of a broad restructuring — this should lower operating costs (positive for margins) but raises investor questions about sustainable revenue growth and the long‑term impact on client coverage. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency And Long Term Growth Plan

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

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.