Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 26,754 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,754 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after purchasing an additional 448,960 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after buying an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after buying an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.14.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management says IRA assets under management have topped $1 trillion — a milestone that signals stronger recurring fee income and deeper client relationships, which supports MS’s higher‑margin wealth business and valuation. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Surpasses $1 Trillion in IRA AUM
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell its stake in the Bayonne Energy Center — a realization event for MS’s private infrastructure platform that can generate realized gains, free up capital, and demonstrate MS’s ability to monetize private assets for clients and funds. MSIP Agrees to Sell Bayonne Energy Center
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: Morgan Stanley’s prior quarterly report beat consensus on EPS and revenue growth (solid ROE and margins), reinforcing investor confidence in fee and trading businesses as rates and markets evolve. (Company Q4/Jan earnings context: MS reported an EPS beat and revenue growth in its most recent quarter.)
• Neutral Sentiment: MS research continues to move markets — the firm’s bullish analyst notes on names like Nvidia keep Morgan Stanley visible as a market‑moving research shop, which helps trading and capital markets flow generation but is an indirect driver of MS’s stock. Morgan Stanley Sounds the Bullish Drum on Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is sticking with a June Fed rate‑cut forecast — a macro call that frames expected trading/markets revenue and risk appetite but is subject to evolving oil and macro data; this helps set investor expectations rather than delivering an immediate balance‑sheet effect. MS Sticks With June Rate Cut Call
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research warns AI‑driven disruption in software could push private‑credit defaults higher — a sector‑level risk that could pressure banks and asset managers with private‑credit exposure and add volatility to credit markets (a potential headwind for parts of MS’s asset‑management and lending franchises). MS Warns Private‑Credit Defaults May Rise From AI Disruption

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total value of $2,942,225.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,501,921.22. The trade was a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.42. The company has a market cap of $251.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

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.