Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 499,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,260 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.1% of OFI Invest Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $88,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $597,000. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC now owns 414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $176.17 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.57. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $97.89 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF; the fund charges a market‑leading 0.14% fee and leverages the bank’s large advisor distribution network — a structural advantage that could deliver steady, advisor‑directed inflows over time. BusinessWire: MSBT launch
• Positive Sentiment: On debut MSBT drew roughly $30.6M of first‑day inflows and ~$34M of trading volume, placing it second to BlackRock’s ETF — early flows validate demand and show the product is attracting assets despite heavy competition. Cointelegraph: MSBT first‑day inflows
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy (new $196 price target), citing strong profitability and the firm’s wealth‑management positioning — upgrades like this can support the share price by attracting institutional and discretionary buyers. MSN: UBS upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026/FY2027 EPS estimates for MS — a sign analysts are lifting forward earnings expectations, which supports valuation multiples if the trend continues. MarketBeat: Erste estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is preparing new private‑credit offerings to capitalize on dislocations in that market — this can diversify fee streams but timing and scale of revenue contributions are uncertain. Benzinga: private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Several broker notes trimmed Morgan Stanley’s near‑term targets or lowered price targets (Daiwa cut its target to $175; Evercore and BMO trimmed targets to ~$190) — mixed/softer analyst revisions can cap upside near term and add volatility. AmericanBankingNews: Daiwa lowers PT AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO changes

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.94.

Insider Buying and Selling 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, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.