Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Boosted by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after acquiring an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,023,000 after purchasing an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

MS opened at $179.85 on Tuesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $285.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.35 and its 200-day moving average is $155.14. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $182.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.77.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research group named Western Digital (WDC) a 2026 top pick — a reminder that MS’s equity research is active and influential, supporting trading & investment-banking flow and recurring client engagement. Morgan Stanley Names Western Digital (WDC) a 2026 Top Pick Amid Cloud Capital Expenditure Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and analyst activity continue across sectors (healthcare, utilities, data centers), reinforcing MS’s research/revenue mix and institutional relationships—a structural positive for fee and trading businesses. Example coverage includes Zoetis, PG&E, Vistra and Grail. Zoetis (ZTS) Positioned Within Morgan Stanley’s 2026 Healthcare Playbook
• Neutral Sentiment: MS itself is in the headlines as a trending stock (investor attention can increase short-term volatility but isn’t a directional fundamental). Zacks and other outlets have recently highlighted MS for investor interest. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple Morgan Stanley analyst notes (resumed coverage, target changes across consumer and financial names) signal ongoing research-driven flow but are company-agnostic for MS’s own stock in the near term. Example: resumed coverage of Unilever and target moves on Diageo/Manulife. Morgan Stanley Resumes Coverage of Unilever (UL) with an Overweight View
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional activity tied to Morgan Stanley shows portfolio trimming in some names (e.g., Morgan Stanley reduced its TSLA holdings in recent filings), which can create perception of risk-taking reduction or repositioning by MS-managed funds. That may weigh on sentiment for the firm’s asset-management/trading outlook. $TSLA stock is down 3% today. Here’s what we see in our data.
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks reports Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial holder in West African Resources — a visible example of MS trimming positions that can feed short-term headlines and investor caution even if not material to MS’s financials. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in West African Resources

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.