Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $1.19 Billion Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65,739 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.46% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,190,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Balefire LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 56,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,287,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 17,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,602,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. CICC Research boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.80.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported blockbuster Q2 2026 results, with record net revenues of about $21.3 billion and earnings that beat expectations, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core businesses. Morgan Stanley (MS) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenues and Strategic Growth …
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, a 15% increase from the prior quarter, which signals confidence in earnings power and capital return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the earnings release, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its price target to $250 and Erste Group lifting FY2027 EPS estimates, suggesting more upside may remain. Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00
• Neutral Sentiment: New reports also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE crypto rollout and AI-related market activity, which could help broaden its platform appeal over time but are not likely the main short-term drivers of the stock move.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles noted a downgrade-style view from Seeking Alpha and a JPMorgan target below the current share price, which may temper enthusiasm at the margin even after the strong earnings beat. Morgan Stanley Maintains Hold on Comstock Resources, Keeps Price Target Unchanged at $16 Amid Cash Outspend and Funding Concerns

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $215.27 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $211.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $136.17 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $339.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 32.34%.

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.