Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,922,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 254,240 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $645,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,354,000 after buying an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates increased. Erste Group Bank raised its Morgan Stanley EPS forecasts to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, up from $12.07 and $12.88, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating, while the current consensus is $12.68 for the year. This reinforces expectations for continued earnings momentum after Morgan Stanley’s recent quarterly beat. Morgan Stanley earnings estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto product expansion could create new fee revenue. Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the MSSE Ethereum Trust and MSOL Solana Trust, each with a 0.14% expense ratio and plans to pass staking rewards to investors. The products expand the firm’s digital-asset lineup beyond its Bitcoin fund and could strengthen its position in the growing crypto ETF market. Morgan Stanley Ether and Solana ETPs
• Positive Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains strong. Morgan Stanley advised on 15 construction-related M&A transactions valued at $81.3 billion during the first half of 2026. Separately, research cited strong second-quarter trading and investment-banking results across major banks, supporting the outlook for Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities business. Morgan Stanley construction M&A advisory
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent operating performance was strong but may already be reflected in valuation. Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter included EPS of $3.46 versus an expected $2.89 and revenue of $21.35 billion versus $19.67 billion, with revenue up 27.1% year over year. However, the stock’s elevated valuation and position above its long-term moving average may leave it sensitive to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Allegations involving mortgage approvals add reputational risk. Reports alleged that Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. Although the reports do not establish wrongdoing, investors may be concerned about potential compliance, legal or regulatory scrutiny. Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.9%

MS opened at $203.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $136.17 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $320.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.78 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. 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 presently 32.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, July 16th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.50.

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.