LGT Group Foundation Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

LGT Group Foundation lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,922 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 758,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,806,000 after purchasing an additional 7,809 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,712,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,831,000 after purchasing an additional 354,871 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 5,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is advising on Pearson’s revised £350M buyback execution alongside Citi — a fee-generating capital‑markets engagement that supports advisory revenue. Pearson Refines £350 Million Buyback With Citi And Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Major banks including Morgan Stanley are moving toward Bitcoin integration — a potential growth area for wealth and institutional products that could expand fees and AUM over time. Crypto Weekend Round-Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research team continues active coverage and re-rating of large names (e.g., upgrade of Novo Nordisk to Equal Weight) — reinforces MS’s research franchise but has limited direct impact on MS shares. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) to Equal Weight From Underweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro research from MS (saying U.S. equity outperformance will continue) signals the firm’s market views and supports its wealth‑management positioning, but it’s a thematic rather than a company‑specific driver. Why Morgan Stanley says U.S. outperformance will continue
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts continue to publish sector calls (e.g., maintaining a Sell on Rivian) — underscores active research/product flow but is not a material driver for MS equity itself. Rivian: Strategic Progress Undermined by Near‑Term Demand, Execution, and Valuation Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced a reduction of about 2,500 jobs (~3% of staff) as part of a broad restructuring — this should lower operating costs (positive for margins) but raises investor questions about sustainable revenue growth and the long‑term impact on client coverage. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency And Long Term Growth Plan

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% 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 worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $160.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $178.20 and a 200 day moving average of $168.02. The firm has a market cap of $254.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

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.