Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 534,491 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.6% in Q3, selling 534,491 shares and now holding 9,088,814 shares (about 0.57% of the company) valued at approximately $1.445 billion.
• Morgan Stanley beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.68 versus $2.28 expected and revenue of $17.9 billion, and it recently paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00, ~2.5% yield).
• Insider selling has been active (129,191 shares sold in the last quarter, ~$23.7M), while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $187.14 average price target amid mixed individual ratings.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,088,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 534,491 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.57% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,444,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $855,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 581,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,407,000 after acquiring an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. HSBC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.14.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its Morgan Stanley price target to $179 (keeps a neutral rating) — the price-target bump provides a near-term valuation lift and is being cited by traders as a catalyst. JPMorgan raises MS PT
• Positive Sentiment: Management is cutting roughly 2,500 jobs (about 3% of the workforce) as part of a restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and margins — investors often view targeted cuts as net-positive for near‑term profitability. Morgan Stanley Job Cuts Test Cost Efficiency
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic collaborations and product initiatives (EquityZen buyout, Zerohash crypto tie‑up and others) are being highlighted by coverage as part of MS’s effort to broaden its wealth and digital offerings — supports long‑term growth narrative. Will Morgan Stanley's Strategic Collaborations Drive Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley (the firm) raised its target on Nu Holdings (NU) and continues active analyst coverage — visible analyst engagement can support trading interest in MS shares through fee and advisory expectations. MS raises Nu PT
• Positive Sentiment: Datadog cited re-acceleration at a Morgan Stanley conference as AI and security demand pick up — MS’s conference franchise and underwriting/advisory pipeline benefit when tech companies show re-acceleration. Datadog at Morgan Stanley conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundups and analyst‑review pieces (e.g., "Demystifying Morgan Stanley") are drawing attention but mostly repackage existing analyst views — useful for flows but not a clear directional catalyst. Demystifying Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research continues to move targets on other companies (e.g., Grainger), reflecting active bench strength in institutional research — a reputational positive but indirect for MS stock. MS updates Grainger forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from strong‑buy to hold — an analyst downgrade can trigger short-term selling or reduced conviction among momentum traders. Jefferies downgrades MS

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $255.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. 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 50 day moving average price of $177.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.23. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for 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%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley 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.

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