B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 8,454 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 7.2%—selling 8,454 shares—and ended the quarter with 108,290 shares valued at about $17.21 million.
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers, offloading a total of 129,191 shares (~$23.74 million) in the last three months and now owning just 0.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley is pursuing growth initiatives—filing an updated S‑1 for a spot Bitcoin ETF and providing up to $1B to Core Scientific—while also announcing roughly 2,500 layoffs, a mix of developments that has prompted some investor trimming despite a recent earnings beat and a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $185.93.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,454 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 771,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,704,000 after purchasing an additional 9,074 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 76,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,257,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 55,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,750,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.2% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 8,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 30.1% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 33,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,246,000 after buying an additional 7,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.15 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $178.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.85. 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 has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed an updated S‑1 / SEC amendment advancing its planned spot Bitcoin ETF (naming Coinbase custody and BNY Mellon roles). That materially increases the firm’s potential fee pool (trading, custody, securities lending) if approved — a strategic growth lever beyond traditional banking. Morgan Stanley Files Updated SEC Amendment for Spot Bitcoin ETF Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley provided financing (initial $500M, expandable to $1B) to Core Scientific for data center/AI infrastructure, demonstrating growth in corporate lending and structured finance opportunities tied to AI/crypto infrastructure. That can add fee and interest income if credit performance holds. Core Scientific secures up to $1B credit from Morgan Stanley for data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Public commentary from Morgan Stanley events (tech/AI conferences) keeps the firm visible as an advisor/market‑maker in tech and AI financing; useful for long‑term franchise positioning but not an immediate earnings surprise. Morgan Stanley's top tech banker: It's 'wartime, not peacetime' for software
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley announced cuts of roughly 2,500 roles (~3% of workforce) across divisions. Markets often react negatively to broad layoffs because they signal restructuring risk, potential disruption to revenue growth and near‑term execution uncertainty even if they imply future cost savings. Morgan Stanley Sheds 2,500 Employees in Companywide Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Investor flow appears to favor trimming MS exposure amid the headlines; analysts and market commentators are re‑assessing near‑term margins and execution risk despite record revenues in 2025 — producing downward pressure on the share price today. Morgan Stanley Cuts 3% Workforce Despite Record Revenues in 2025

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the 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 $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.