Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Capital Research Global Investors

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7%, selling 135,459 shares and leaving it with 19,248,911 shares (about a 1.21% stake) valued at roughly $3.06 billion.
• Other large institutional moves include Norges Bank taking a new ~ $2.23 billion stake and Vanguard holding 119,123,487 shares (~$16.78 billion), leaving institutional investors with about 84.19% ownership of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.68 vs. $2.28; revenue $17.90B), announced roughly 2,500 job cuts, paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.5% yield), and insiders sold about 129,191 shares worth ~$23.7 million in the last three months.

Capital Research Global Investors decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,248,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 135,459 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 1.21% of Morgan Stanley worth $3,059,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,318,055,000 after buying an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. 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 announced cuts of roughly 2,500 jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at improving cost efficiency and operational flexibility — investors may view this as margin‑enhancing over time if execution and one‑time charges are controlled. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research remains active and visible: the firm reinstated Nvidia as a top AI chip pick (showing strong franchise in semiconductor coverage) and has been adjusting price targets for clients such as Grainger and Travelers — positive for recurring research/IB visibility but indirect for MS’s stock performance. Article Title Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley's market commentary (saying the U.S. market should outperform and that the S&P 500 rolling correction may be nearing an end) reinforces its investment‑bank research positioning — helpful for business reputation but not an immediate catalyst for MS shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded Morgan Stanley from "strong‑buy" to "hold" — a direct sell‑side signal that can pressure the stock by reducing buy‑side conviction and prompting short‑term selling. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.70 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $177.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $255.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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