Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2,654.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,583 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $304,000. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 123.9% in the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 28,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coordinated Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of MS stock opened at $180.07 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The company has a market cap of $286.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.

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.