Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 7,355 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 261,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,407,000 after acquiring an additional 21,458 shares during the period. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $855,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 157,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,048,000 after purchasing an additional 5,876 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Michael Grimes’ return to Morgan Stanley reinforces the firm’s role at the center of the tech IPO cycle — a potential boost to investment‑banking fees and equity capital markets activity if deal flow accelerates. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research effort (scanning ~3,600 stocks for AI winners) and thematic reports boost its franchise value — stronger research can attract trading, asset‑management and advisory revenue. Morgan Stanley examined 3,600 stocks amid AI’s shakeout. It has recommendations.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions tied to Morgan Stanley research have market impact (examples: coverage that helped lift Micron). That influence helps the bank’s equity research / sales trading revenues and bolsters client relationships. Morgan Stanley Pounds the Table on Micron Stock (MU)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research pieces (e.g., on private companies reshaping industries and AV startups) highlight content leadership that supports long‑term advisory and wealth management positioning — strategic positives whose revenue impact is gradual. Private Companies Are Reshaping These 5 Industries: Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Governance/headline risk from executive compensation: reports that CEO Ted Pick’s pay rose ~32% to ~$45M have created negative optics and may pressure sentiment among public investors sensitive to pay/governance issues. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million
• Negative Sentiment: Industry headwinds for certain fee pools: reporting that major banks (including Morgan Stanley) are pulling back on financing some clean‑energy deals can weigh on potential investment banking and lending pipelines in that sector. US Clean Energy Deals Face Financing Risk as Big Banks Hold Back

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $168.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $180.96 and a 200-day moving average of $164.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results 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 16.92%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.