Morgan Stanley $MS Position Increased by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,800 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after buying an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after buying an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of 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 firm has a market cap of $285.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $182.34.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.