Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 213,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Leuthold Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 69,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,106,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 24,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,851,000 after buying an additional 12,147 shares during the period. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 6,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $8,206,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MS. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded 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 issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has a near‑term business tailwind from investment banking hires and deal pipeline — the return of Michael Grimes to lead investment banking should help MS win tech IPO and advisory mandates, a potential boost to fees over coming quarters. Michael Grimes Return Puts Morgan Stanley At Center Of Tech IPO Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Latest reported fundamentals remain a support: MS beat Q4 estimates (EPS and revenue) and continues to show improving margins and ROE, which underpins valuation vs. peers (background earnings data disclosed 1/15).
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research is active and moving markets — the firm’s analyst work (including bullish calls on names such as Micron) can drive trading and capital markets activity, but the revenue benefits are lumpy and timing uncertain. Morgan Stanley Pounds the Table on Micron Stock (MU)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategist pieces and scans (MS looked through ~3,600 stocks for AI winners) spotlight the firm’s market‑research strength but are longer‑horizon catalysts rather than immediate earnings drivers. Morgan Stanley examined 3,600 stocks amid AI’s shakeout. It has recommendations.
• Negative Sentiment: Governance and optics risks: Reuters reports CEO Ted Pick’s pay rose ~32% to $45M — a headline that can pressure sentiment, especially when investors focus on cost discipline and compensation governance. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick’s pay rises 32% to $45 million
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term technical/market factors: MS is trading off after a rally toward its 52‑week high — some pullback and profit‑taking by traders is consistent with sector rotation and headline noise (research/compensation stories), which can mute intraday performance.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $176.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

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.