OFI Invest Asset Management Increases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 499,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 108,260 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.1% of OFI Invest Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $88,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $855,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.94.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF; the fund charges a market‑leading 0.14% fee and leverages the bank’s large advisor distribution network — a structural advantage that could deliver steady, advisor‑directed inflows over time. BusinessWire: MSBT launch
• Positive Sentiment: On debut MSBT drew roughly $30.6M of first‑day inflows and ~$34M of trading volume, placing it second to BlackRock’s ETF — early flows validate demand and show the product is attracting assets despite heavy competition. Cointelegraph: MSBT first‑day inflows
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy (new $196 price target), citing strong profitability and the firm’s wealth‑management positioning — upgrades like this can support the share price by attracting institutional and discretionary buyers. MSN: UBS upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026/FY2027 EPS estimates for MS — a sign analysts are lifting forward earnings expectations, which supports valuation multiples if the trend continues. MarketBeat: Erste estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is preparing new private‑credit offerings to capitalize on dislocations in that market — this can diversify fee streams but timing and scale of revenue contributions are uncertain. Benzinga: private credit fund
• Negative Sentiment: Several broker notes trimmed Morgan Stanley’s near‑term targets or lowered price targets (Daiwa cut its target to $175; Evercore and BMO trimmed targets to ~$190) — mixed/softer analyst revisions can cap upside near term and add volatility. AmericanBankingNews: Daiwa lowers PT AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO changes

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $176.17 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.57. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $97.89 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $279.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.