Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Cut by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.1% in the third quarter, selling 31,805 shares and retaining 587,979 shares valued at approximately $110.6 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley’s shares, with several major firms—including Bank of America, UBS Asset Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors—recently increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $214.62, while Morgan Stanley recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and declared a $1.15-per-share dividend.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 587,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,805 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $110,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 188,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 65,739 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role adds fee and prestige potential: Morgan Stanley was named a lead underwriter for Anthropic’s upcoming initial public offering, alongside Goldman Sachs. The mandate could generate substantial underwriting fees and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s position in high-profile technology and AI capital-markets transactions. In Anthropic IPO, Goldman and Morgan Stanley Slug It Out for Top Bank
• Positive Sentiment: AI financing opportunity expands: Morgan Stanley is among the banks committed to a reported $63 billion financing arrangement supporting Broadcom’s AI infrastructure deployments for Anthropic. The deal could provide financing revenue and deepen the firm’s relationships across the fast-growing AI ecosystem. Broadcom Anthropic $63 Billion Financing Banks
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth Management growth is supported by AI: Morgan Stanley is using AI to improve advisor productivity, increase asset-gathering capacity and reduce operating friction. Record Wealth Management revenue in the third quarter provides a favorable base for recurring fee growth if these productivity gains continue. Can AI Adoption Sustain Morgan Stanley's Wealth Management Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking franchise remains active: Morgan Stanley advised on approximately $235.2 billion of European mergers and acquisitions during the first three quarters of 2026, underscoring its strong market position. However, the immediate earnings impact will depend on transaction timing and fee realization. Morgan Stanley, Rothschild Lead Europe M&A Financial Advisers Rankings
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risks could pressure valuations and trading sentiment: Morgan Stanley economist Michael Gapen said investors should not assume the Federal Reserve is finished raising rates, while the firm’s strategists warned that support for semiconductor stocks could be materially lower. Higher-for-longer rates and weaker risk appetite could weigh on asset-management flows, deal activity and market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley Economist Discusses Future Fed Hikes

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $187.11 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $152.80 and a one year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.

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