a16z Perennial Management L.P. Acquires New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

a16z Perennial Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after buying an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.4%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.82.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results & valuation check: recent coverage highlights Morgan Stanley’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings and a rebound in investment banking activity — the core drivers cited for the stock’s move as investors price in stronger fee revenue and improved outlook. Morgan Stanley valuation check
• Positive Sentiment: Index positioning: a note that Morgan Stanley is positioned among Russell 1000 ETF constituents supports expectations of incremental passive inflows if/when indices are rebalanced — a technical bid to shares. MS Positioned Among Russell 1000 ETF Constituents
• Positive Sentiment: Advisory momentum: Morgan Stanley topped power-sector M&A advisory in 2025 — evidence its advisory pipeline and fee generation are strong, reinforcing the investment-banking recovery narrative. That supports revenue diversification beyond markets. Morgan Stanley tops power M&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional flows / stake moves: a small buy by Linscomb Wealth marginally increased MS holdings — a minor positive signal about demand from wealth managers but not material to stock direction. Linscomb Wealth purchases MS shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking pipeline evidence: Morgan Stanley appears among anchor/backer activity on deals (e.g., Fractal Analytics IPO anchor interest), underscoring continued capital-markets engagement — supportive over time but not an immediate share-mover. Fractal Analytics anchor investors
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Evercore ISI trimmed Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold” — a near-term headwind for sentiment that can cap upside until guidance/earnings prove durable. Evercore downgrade / Zacks note
• Negative Sentiment: Sector costs & policy risk: Reuters reports U.S. banks increased lobbying as policy fights heat up — a reminder of rising regulatory/policy risk and possible higher compliance costs that affect all large banks, including MS. Banks boost Washington lobbying

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average 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.