Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 97.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 76.4% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 438.7% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 379,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,310,000 after buying an additional 309,286 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.3% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 126,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,795,000 after buying an additional 27,998 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 41.3% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 25,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,973,000 after buying an additional 7,451 shares during the period. 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: 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.77.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $181.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $288.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $168.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.95. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $182.00.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

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.