Aberdeen Group plc Sells 6,319 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,140,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,319 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $179,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $171.40 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.12. The company has a market cap of $272.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley is being framed as catalyzing a rebound in technology IPO activity — investors see this as potentially boosting MS’s investment banking fees and market positioning in the tech IPO cycle. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management is reportedly exploring a ~$500M continuation vehicle for India healthcare assets — a sign the firm is leveraging its asset‑management platform to generate fee income and secondary-market activity. That bolsters the revenue mix beyond trading/IB. Morgan Stanley said to consider $500 million India fund, shifts some assets
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Research is publishing bullish thematic work (private AVs, AI/semiconductors and “buy‑the‑dip” views on resilient software names) that supports expectations for advisory and sales flow into technology and infrastructure sectors where MS has coverage and syndication presence. That research momentum can lift investor sentiment. Private AV Startups are About to Take Over U.S. Streets
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., recommended AI‑chip names) and analyst notes highlighting buy opportunities in software/semiconductors help the firm’s visible franchise, but are indirect drivers of near‑term stock moves — they mainly influence flow into sectors MS covers. SNDK or QCOM: Morgan Stanley Picks One Top AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, reporting that CEO Ted Pick’s total pay rose ~32% to ~$45M draws governance and cost scrutiny — some investors interpret large executive pay increases as a potential negative for shareholder alignment and a near‑term headline risk. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.