Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,581 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after buying an additional 36,963 shares during the period. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $1,260,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,102,000 after buying an additional 65,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $8,854,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. CICC Research lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.50.
More Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises earnings forecasts: Erste Group Bank lifted its Morgan Stanley EPS estimates to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, above consensus estimates of $12.78 and $12.68, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimates
- Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly momentum remains supportive: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed EPS of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. The results reinforced expectations for continued earnings growth across investment banking, trading and wealth management.
- Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity signals bullish positioning: Traders purchased 40,133 Morgan Stanley call options, approximately 123% above average call volume. Options activity can amplify near-term momentum, though it is not a guarantee of future performance.
- Positive Sentiment: Visibility with major technology investors: Morgan Stanley hosted a closed-door roadshow featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang said rising demand for AI computing could lift corporate revenue and GDP, highlighting the investment bank’s role in capturing AI-related advisory, capital-markets and wealth-management opportunities. Nvidia CEO joins Morgan Stanley roadshow
- Positive Sentiment: Expansion of investment products: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products with staking features and 0.14% fees, extending its cryptocurrency product lineup beyond its Bitcoin offering. This could create additional fee revenue and strengthen the firm’s competitive position in digital assets. Morgan Stanley launches Ethereum and Solana ETPs
- Neutral Sentiment: Market backdrop remains mixed: Morgan Stanley research has highlighted opportunities in quality stocks amid elevated valuations, geopolitical uncertainty and questions about returns on AI infrastructure spending. These conditions may support advisory and trading activity but could also increase market volatility.
- Negative Sentiment: Mortgage-practices allegations: A report alleged that some Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. If substantiated, the issue could lead to regulatory scrutiny, legal costs or reputational damage. Report on Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE MS opened at $210.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $331.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $136.17 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.11 and its 200 day moving average is $190.67.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.34%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
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.
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