State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 7,800 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 328,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $52,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.0% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $304,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Evercore lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4%

MS opened at $180.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $180.57 and its 200-day moving average is $163.82. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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 related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.