Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,021 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has a near‑term business tailwind from investment banking hires and deal pipeline — the return of Michael Grimes to lead investment banking should help MS win tech IPO and advisory mandates, a potential boost to fees over coming quarters. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Latest reported fundamentals remain a support: MS beat Q4 estimates (EPS and revenue) and continues to show improving margins and ROE, which underpins valuation vs. peers (background earnings data disclosed 1/15).
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research is active and moving markets — the firm’s analyst work (including bullish calls on names such as Micron) can drive trading and capital markets activity, but the revenue benefits are lumpy and timing uncertain. Morgan Stanley Pounds the Table on Micron Stock (MU)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategist pieces and scans (MS looked through ~3,600 stocks for AI winners) spotlight the firm’s market‑research strength but are longer‑horizon catalysts rather than immediate earnings drivers. Morgan Stanley examined 3,600 stocks amid AI’s shakeout. It has recommendations.
• Negative Sentiment: Governance and optics risks: Reuters reports CEO Ted Pick’s pay rose ~32% to $45M — a headline that can pressure sentiment, especially when investors focus on cost discipline and compensation governance. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term technical/market factors: MS is trading off after a rally toward its 52‑week high — some pullback and profit‑taking by traders is consistent with sector rotation and headline noise (research/compensation stories), which can mute intraday performance.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have 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 recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $176.88 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $281.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.75. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be 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 is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

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.