ARS Investment Partners LLC Has $20.04 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

ARS Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,435 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.3% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.77.

Key Stores Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks summary notes MS outperformed the market in the latest session and highlights factors supporting the rally — a quick reference that momentum and analyst attention are lifting the stock. Morgan Stanley (MS) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: MS appears on a Zacks list of high-yield S&P names, reinforcing investor interest in the stock for income-oriented portfolios and supporting demand from dividend-focused funds. Top 5 High-Yield S&P 500 Stocks to Buy for Reliable Returns in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research named NVDA, AVGO and ALAB among top chip picks for 2026 — a sign MS research is engaged in growth sectors that can drive trading and advisory revenues. That helps positioning and client flows into MS’s investment-banking and trading franchises. Morgan Stanley Picks NVDA, AVGO, and ALAB as Top Chip Stocks for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund appointed a new compliance chief — a governance move that reduces operational/regulatory risk for the firm’s credit business and can reassure fund investors. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Names New Compliance Chief
• Neutral Sentiment: The Zacks Analyst Blog referenced Morgan Stanley among several firms in a roundup — useful for visibility but not a material company-specific development. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Invesco, Johnson & Johnson, NiSource, Bunge Global and Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts continue to publish sector calls (for example downgrading Enterprise Products) and adjust targets — this shows active coverage that influences trading flows but is company-research activity rather than a direct corporate event. Morgan Stanley Downgrades Enterprise Products (EPD) as Growth Story Fades
• Neutral Sentiment: MS economists’ commentary on U.K. fiscal constraints (coverage in Proactive) signals the firm’s macro views are in play for clients and policymakers — important for client advisory but not a direct stock event. Rachel Reeves’ hopes for an easier year meet a hard dose of reality. Here’s what’s in store in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Nasdaq reported a rise in short interest across its securities — a broader market signal that can increase volatility and weigh on financial stocks during risk-off moves; this is a market-level headwind for banks that are sensitive to trading volumes and market sentiment. Nasdaq Reports Increase in Short Interest Across Global Market Securities as of December 15, 2025

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $181.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.09 and a 200-day moving average of $153.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $288.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $182.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.