Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Purchases 5,662 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 743,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,662 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.6% of Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $118,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after acquiring an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 11,311 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after acquiring an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Evercore downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management surpassed $1 trillion in IRA assets under management — a milestone that signals stronger recurring fee revenue, deeper client relationships and stickier AUM growth for MS’s wealth franchise. This is a direct positive for long‑term fee outlook and valuation multiple support. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in IRA AUM
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for MSIM that can crystallize gains for its infrastructure funds and supports asset‑management performance/exit activity. That helps near‑term fees and signals execution capability in private markets. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley arranged a large financing for TeraWulf (reported $500M credit) — shows MS generating originations and lending fees in the energy/data‑center financing market, which supports investment‑banking and lending revenue streams. TeraWulf Stock Soars After $500M Morgan Stanley Financing Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Research/market views: Morgan Stanley analysts urged selling the Asian stock rally amid Iran‑war driven energy risk — this is a client‑facing macro call that could reduce client risk appetite and trading flow volumes if markets follow, but it’s a research signal rather than firm guidance. Morgan Stanley Says Sell Asian Stock Rally on Iran War Impact
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage activity (Nvidia, other names, price‑target moves) keeps MS visible in institutional research — supportive for commission and syndicate relationships but only indirectly tied to MS’s profit drivers. Watch for more broker‑sponsored coverage to influence flow activity. Morgan Stanley Sounds the Bullish Drum on Nvidia Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk commentary and market volatility—Morgan Stanley’s own warnings about oil disruption and market stress raise the prospect of weaker capital‑markets activity and choppier trading revenue ahead. Elevated energy‑risk premiums and geopolitical uncertainty could compress near‑term trading & advisory fees. Morgan Stanley has a stark warning for oil investors
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley commentary about structural risks (e.g., private‑credit stress and AI disruption scenarios) highlights potential headwinds to lending/private credit strategy performance and could pressure investor sentiment around MS’s capital‑markets exposure if those risks materialize. Morgan Stanley says AI disruption of software will send private credit defaults surging

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MS opened at $158.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $251.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.38 and a 200-day moving average of $168.42.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

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.