Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management reduced its Morgan Stanley position by 5.4% in the third quarter, selling 6,172 shares and retaining 108,216 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million.
• Institutional investors own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley, with major holders including Bank of America, UBS Asset Management, Bank of New York Mellon and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their stakes.
• Morgan Stanley shares opened at $186.61, below the firm’s 50- and 200-day moving averages, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $219.43; the company also authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program.

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,172 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after purchasing an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after purchasing an additional 188,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,611,846,000 after purchasing an additional 422,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s earnings release is the immediate catalyst. Options markets are targeting a potential move toward roughly $205, suggesting significant volatility and the possibility of a relief rally if results and guidance exceed subdued expectations. ASML Could Swing $34.8 Billion After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: The company is reportedly planning to support tokenized equities on its alternative trading system, adding to its longer-term technology and digital-assets narrative. Morgan Stanley Plans Tokenized Equities Support
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are focused on wealth-management flows, asset levels, custody activity, investment-banking revenue and the effect of rising rates. The stock may be “priced for disappointment,” creating upside if operating results are resilient. What to Watch When Morgan Stanley Reports
• Negative Sentiment: Investment sentiment has weakened after Morgan Stanley’s earlier rally toward $230, as expectations for M&A and IPO growth cooled. Higher Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and elevated energy prices are also tightening financial conditions, potentially pressuring dealmaking and financing activity. Morgan Stanley Stock Selloff Cools Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank trimmed its fiscal 2026 EPS estimate slightly to $12.79 from $12.83 and maintained a Hold rating. Although the revised estimate remains above the broader $12.66 consensus, the reduction reinforces caution ahead of earnings. Morgan Stanley Analyst Estimate Update

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.8%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $186.61 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $151.88 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The stock has a market cap of $294.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $206.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.

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