Capital Advisors Inc. OK Acquires 4,582 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 508,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,582 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.3% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $80,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth 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 period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $542,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 259,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,468,000 after acquiring an additional 59,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11,095.5% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 9,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 9,764 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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 value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe Bruyette raised Morgan Stanley’s price target (reported Dec. 17), lifting broker sentiment and supporting upside to the shares. Morgan Stanley (MS) Price Target Raised by $18
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley management set an optimistic, bullish tone for 2026 — messaging that can boost investor confidence around revenue growth and capital-markets activity. Morgan Stanley (MS) Sets Bullish Tone for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Research mention: Morgan Stanley’s analysis estimating AI could automate ~37% of commercial‑real‑estate tasks and unlock ~$34B in efficiencies highlights the firm’s advisory/research reach and could help win CRE advisory and tech‑related mandates. Commercial Real Estate Turns to AI to Automate the Back Office
• Neutral Sentiment: MS screens well on earnings‑growth metrics in a recent stock‑scan writeup, reinforcing the narrative of durable earnings but offering no immediate catalyst. We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Passed With Ease
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage activity by MS analysts (e.g., public picks and sector calls) underscores the brokerage’s research platform but mostly influences recurring revenue over time rather than an immediate stock move. Microsoft (MSFT) Named Top Large-Cap Software Pick by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece flags ongoing underperformance at Morgan Stanley’s Direct Lending arm, which could pressure fee and asset‑management revenue and is a clear near‑term negative for MS’s alternatives business. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending: Continues To Disappoint Going Into 2026

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $181.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm has a market cap of $288.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $182.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm 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 firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.77.

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.