Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of MS opened at $162.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.58. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market cap of $257.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advanced filing to launch a spot Bitcoin trust — Morgan Stanley amended its S‑1 for a spot BTC Trust and named Coinbase and BNY Mellon as custody/administration partners, moving the firm closer to offering a passive bitcoin ETF. That product could create recurring fee revenue and expand MS’s asset-management offerings in crypto. Morgan Stanley taps Coinbase and BNY for Bitcoin ETF custody
• Neutral Sentiment: Provision of major loan facility to Core Scientific — MS provided an initial $500M facility (expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific to fund AI/data‑center build‑out. The deal generates origination and arrangement revenue but also increases exposure to a cyclical, crypto‑adjacent borrower; impact to credit metrics depends on future draw/repayment and collateral. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity and ongoing franchise work — Morgan Stanley research continues to publish sector calls and price‑target moves (e.g., coverage updates on Brookfield and others). These are normal franchise activities that support fee generation but are not large single‑day catalysts for MS equity. Morgan Stanley Raises its Price Target on Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (BAM) to $63
• Negative Sentiment: Companywide layoffs (~2,500 roles, ~3% of workforce) across investment banking, trading, wealth and investment management — the cuts, reported broadly today, signal immediate cost reductions but also raise investor questions about revenue trends, AI‑driven restructuring and execution risk during the transition. That announcement appears to be a primary driver of today’s negative sentiment. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Shares underperforming the broader market after headlines — market coverage notes MS is down more than the index as investors digest the layoff and restructuring news along with franchise moves. Morgan Stanley (MS) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.