Focused Investors LLC Boosts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Focused Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,301,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,600 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 6.3% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Focused Investors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $206,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,575,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares in the last quarter. BXM Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $396,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 194,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,923,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and strong fees: MS posted $2.68 EPS (above estimates) and reported revenue of ~$17.9B with investment‑banking revenue rising ~47% year‑over‑year — a clear driver behind the rally. Morgan Stanley Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Sector/peer momentum: Strong results at peers (Goldman, others) and a broader market lift from chip/tech earnings helped financial ETFs and bank stocks, amplifying Morgan Stanley’s move. Stocks Finish Higher As Chip, Bank Stocks Drive Optimism
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward pipeline: Management and street coverage point to a bigger 2026 IPO/deal pipeline and ongoing wealth‑management growth (AUM ~ $9.3T), suggesting revenues could stay elevated if markets and deal activity persist. Morgan Stanley Sees 2026 IPO Wave, CFO Flags Bigger Pipeline, Broader Dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed: many firms reaffirm buy/overweight stances or raise targets on banks, but some note that strong fundamentals may already be priced in — raising the risk of “sell the news” moves after the beat. Morgan Stanley Q4 Review: Strong Fundamentals Priced In (Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Cash‑flow and insider selling flagged: while EPS beat, Quiver/filings flagged a material swing to negative operating cash flow (roughly -$3.3B) and notable insider sales over recent months — items that could concern value/longer‑term investors. Morgan Stanley (MS) Releases Q4 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats, Revenue Misses; Operating Cash Flow Turns Deeply Negative

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $191.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $303.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.32. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

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.