LGT Group Foundation Cuts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

LGT Group Foundation cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,922 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $160.15 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.20 and a 200 day moving average of $168.02. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is advising on Pearson’s revised £350M buyback execution alongside Citi — a fee-generating capital‑markets engagement that supports advisory revenue. Pearson Refines £350 Million Buyback With Citi And Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Major banks including Morgan Stanley are moving toward Bitcoin integration — a potential growth area for wealth and institutional products that could expand fees and AUM over time. Crypto Weekend Round-Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research team continues active coverage and re-rating of large names (e.g., upgrade of Novo Nordisk to Equal Weight) — reinforces MS’s research franchise but has limited direct impact on MS shares. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) to Equal Weight From Underweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro research from MS (saying U.S. equity outperformance will continue) signals the firm’s market views and supports its wealth‑management positioning, but it’s a thematic rather than a company‑specific driver. Why Morgan Stanley says U.S. outperformance will continue
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts continue to publish sector calls (e.g., maintaining a Sell on Rivian) — underscores active research/product flow but is not a material driver for MS equity itself. Rivian: Strategic Progress Undermined by Near‑Term Demand, Execution, and Valuation Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced a reduction of about 2,500 jobs (~3% of staff) as part of a broad restructuring — this should lower operating costs (positive for margins) but raises investor questions about sustainable revenue growth and the long‑term impact on client coverage. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency And Long Term Growth Plan

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.93.

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.