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

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,088,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 534,491 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,444,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.14.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MS opened at $160.69 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. 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 company has a market capitalization 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.