Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 38,400 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leuthold Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 69,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,218 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 100.6% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 24,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 12,147 shares during the period. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,206,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $176.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.75. The firm has a market cap of $281.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.