Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,904 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $2,736,648,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is being recognized as a leader in financing AI-related debt deals, suggesting stronger underwriting and advisory revenue tied to data-center expansion. Morgan Stanley becomes Wall Street’s top bank for AI debt deals
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage from market outlets also pointed to Morgan Stanley as constructive on broader macro and sector opportunities, including semiconductor and commodity trends, which can help sentiment around its research and client franchise. MarketWatch chip stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst notes and rating updates continued to support expectations for solid earnings, with recent reports raising price targets and forecast estimates for fiscal 2026 and beyond. Morgan Stanley upgraded at Freedom Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive business headlines, the stock was under pressure in a broader risk-off session, which can weigh on large financials even when company-specific news is favorable.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.60.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $210.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $136.17 and a twelve month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.