Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Has $14.24 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,981 shares during the quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,590,000 after acquiring an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $162.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $178.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.58. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advanced filing to launch a spot Bitcoin trust — Morgan Stanley amended its S‑1 for a spot BTC Trust and named Coinbase and BNY Mellon as custody/administration partners, moving the firm closer to offering a passive bitcoin ETF. That product could create recurring fee revenue and expand MS’s asset-management offerings in crypto. Morgan Stanley taps Coinbase and BNY for Bitcoin ETF custody
• Neutral Sentiment: Provision of major loan facility to Core Scientific — MS provided an initial $500M facility (expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific to fund AI/data‑center build‑out. The deal generates origination and arrangement revenue but also increases exposure to a cyclical, crypto‑adjacent borrower; impact to credit metrics depends on future draw/repayment and collateral. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity and ongoing franchise work — Morgan Stanley research continues to publish sector calls and price‑target moves (e.g., coverage updates on Brookfield and others). These are normal franchise activities that support fee generation but are not large single‑day catalysts for MS equity. Morgan Stanley Raises its Price Target on Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (BAM) to $63
• Negative Sentiment: Companywide layoffs (~2,500 roles, ~3% of workforce) across investment banking, trading, wealth and investment management — the cuts, reported broadly today, signal immediate cost reductions but also raise investor questions about revenue trends, AI‑driven restructuring and execution risk during the transition. That announcement appears to be a primary driver of today’s negative sentiment. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Shares underperforming the broader market after headlines — market coverage notes MS is down more than the index as investors digest the layoff and restructuring news along with franchise moves. Morgan Stanley (MS) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

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.