NatWest Group plc Has $12.34 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

NatWest Group plc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,985 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 2.9% of NatWest Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. NatWest Group plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF (ticker MSBT) received an NYSE Arca listing notice — a step often right before launch. A live MS-branded spot-BTC ETF could create new fee income, broaden distribution of bitcoin exposure through MS channels, and intensify competition among ETF providers. Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Nears Launch on NYSE
• Positive Sentiment: Potential underwriting/lead roles in a high-profile IPO (SpaceX) are being discussed in markets; if MS wins senior bookrunner roles it would generate meaningful investment-banking fees and bolster deal pipeline expectations. SpaceX IPO timing and banks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and the firm’s research remain active: a MarketBeat/Erste note nudged FY2026 EPS estimates slightly higher for MS (small positive to consensus), while MS’s own research continues to drive coverage and client flows across sectors — supportive for franchise value but not an immediate share catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are positioned for Morgan Stanley’s upcoming Q1 2026 report and guidance commentary — previews and models are circulating and may drive intraday volatility around the print. Q1 2026 Earnings: What to Expect
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment has turned sour despite strong 2025 results; coverage stories note Reddit/social sentiment and retail positioning have shifted sharply bearish, which has pressured the stock even after record revenue and earnings beats. That crowd-sentiment shift is a likely proximate cause of the share weakness. Record Earnings Could Not Stop MS Shares From Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded MS from strong-buy to hold — analyst downgrades can prompt short-term selling and signal reduced conviction from parts of the sell-side peer group. Zacks Downgrade / Coverage Note

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $163.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.86. The company has a market cap of $259.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for 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 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.