Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106,810 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $84,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the 2nd 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. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $177.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong capital returns and balance-sheet cushion support the rally — coverage notes Morgan Stanley ended 2025 with a large liquidity cushion and a $20B buyback plan (about $17.4B still available) alongside an 8% dividend increase, which investors view as shareholder-friendly and supportive of the stock. Does Morgan Stanley’s Liquidity Cushion Support Its Capital Returns?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley asset-management product update — Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) reported Q4 results and declared a dividend, underscoring fee-income/alternative-asset momentum inside MS’s wealth & asset-management franchises. That supports the idea of more stable fee streams. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Posts Q4 Results, Declares Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals: MS beat Q4/Jan-quarter EPS and revenue expectations (January 15 release) and consensus still models mid‑single-digit earnings growth for the year — that underlying operating beat remains a tailwind for sentiment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market-performance commentary and analyst attention — coverage noting MS has outperformed the S&P recently can attract momentum flows but also raises expectations for continued delivery. Is Morgan Stanley Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory / institutional moves — filings show Morgan Stanley altering some substantial‑holder positions in third parties, a normal part of portfolio/institutional activity; watch for any larger balance-sheet or trading-book disclosures. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in PLS Group
• Negative Sentiment: Advisor‑recruiting and wealth‑channel costs are a material headwind — Barron’s highlights rising recruiting costs for advisors at Morgan Stanley, which can pressure margins in the Wealth Management segment and temper near‑term earnings leverage. That is likely constraining part of the valuation multiple today. Morgan Stanley’s Advisor Recruiting Costs Pile Up

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.