Amundi Purchases 654,891 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Amundi lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,981,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 654,891 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.44% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,148,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $5,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the period. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,260,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $116,102,000 after purchasing an additional 65,246 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,854,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched the MSSE Ethereum Trust and MSOL Solana Trust on NYSE Arca. Both products charge a 0.14% expense ratio and intend to stake assets, passing staking rewards to investors. The products expand Morgan Stanley’s digital-asset platform beyond its bitcoin offering and could generate new fee revenue. Morgan Stanley expands crypto lineup with Ether, Solana ETPs
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s strong position in the investment-banking and trading boom. The firm advised on 15 construction-related transactions worth $81.3 billion in the first half of 2026, reinforcing its competitive position in mergers and acquisitions. Morgan Stanley leads construction M&A advisory in H1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists remain constructive on artificial-intelligence investment, arguing that major technology companies’ substantial AI spending could ultimately produce strong returns and improve profit margins. This supports continued advisory, financing and trading opportunities for MS, although the view primarily benefits its corporate clients. Morgan Stanley says AI investment could generate strong returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is among the anchor investors in Manipal Health Enterprises’ planned Indian IPO, which raised Rs 4,167 crore from anchor investors. The deal may provide advisory, underwriting or distribution revenue, but its near-term financial impact on MS was not disclosed. Manipal Health IPO anchor investment
• Negative Sentiment: The positive company-specific news has not offset likely profit-taking and broader risk reduction across financial and technology stocks. Morgan Stanley’s shares remain near their 52-week high, leaving valuation and market-sentiment concerns as potential reasons investors are selling despite the firm’s strong prior earnings and expanding fee opportunities.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $211.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $334.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $136.17 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Dbs Bank raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.50.

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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