Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Buys 7,581 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,581 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th 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, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during 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. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $210.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $331.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.11 and a 200-day moving average of $190.67. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises earnings forecasts: Erste Group Bank lifted its Morgan Stanley EPS estimates to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, above consensus estimates of $12.78 and $12.68, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly momentum remains supportive: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed EPS of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. The results reinforced expectations for continued earnings growth across investment banking, trading and wealth management.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity signals bullish positioning: Traders purchased 40,133 Morgan Stanley call options, approximately 123% above average call volume. Options activity can amplify near-term momentum, though it is not a guarantee of future performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Visibility with major technology investors: Morgan Stanley hosted a closed-door roadshow featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang said rising demand for AI computing could lift corporate revenue and GDP, highlighting the investment bank’s role in capturing AI-related advisory, capital-markets and wealth-management opportunities. Nvidia CEO joins Morgan Stanley roadshow
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion of investment products: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products with staking features and 0.14% fees, extending its cryptocurrency product lineup beyond its Bitcoin offering. This could create additional fee revenue and strengthen the firm’s competitive position in digital assets. Morgan Stanley launches Ethereum and Solana ETPs
• Neutral Sentiment: Market backdrop remains mixed: Morgan Stanley research has highlighted opportunities in quality stocks amid elevated valuations, geopolitical uncertainty and questions about returns on AI infrastructure spending. These conditions may support advisory and trading activity but could also increase market volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Mortgage-practices allegations: A report alleged that some Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. If substantiated, the issue could lead to regulatory scrutiny, legal costs or reputational damage. Report on Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Dbs Bank lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.50.

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.