Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,922,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 254,240 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.25% of Morgan Stanley worth $645,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. HSBC increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of MS opened at $203.29 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $136.17 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $320.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $214.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates increased. Erste Group Bank raised its Morgan Stanley EPS forecasts to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, up from $12.07 and $12.88, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating, while the current consensus is $12.68 for the year. This reinforces expectations for continued earnings momentum after Morgan Stanley’s recent quarterly beat. Morgan Stanley earnings estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto product expansion could create new fee revenue. Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the MSSE Ethereum Trust and MSOL Solana Trust, each with a 0.14% expense ratio and plans to pass staking rewards to investors. The products expand the firm’s digital-asset lineup beyond its Bitcoin fund and could strengthen its position in the growing crypto ETF market. Morgan Stanley Ether and Solana ETPs
• Positive Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains strong. Morgan Stanley advised on 15 construction-related M&A transactions valued at $81.3 billion during the first half of 2026. Separately, research cited strong second-quarter trading and investment-banking results across major banks, supporting the outlook for Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities business. Morgan Stanley construction M&A advisory
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent operating performance was strong but may already be reflected in valuation. Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter included EPS of $3.46 versus an expected $2.89 and revenue of $21.35 billion versus $19.67 billion, with revenue up 27.1% year over year. However, the stock’s elevated valuation and position above its long-term moving average may leave it sensitive to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Allegations involving mortgage approvals add reputational risk. Reports alleged that Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. Although the reports do not establish wrongdoing, investors may be concerned about potential compliance, legal or regulatory scrutiny. Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations

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.

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