Cerity Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 252,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,175 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $40,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has filed multiple crypto products (spot Bitcoin & Solana ETFs and a spot Ether trust that contemplates staking). That accelerates MS’s effort to capture custody/fees from institutional crypto flows and to embed crypto into its wealth platform — potentially new recurring fee lines and distribution leverage. Morgan Stanley adds Ethereum staking ETF filing to growing crypto lineup
• Positive Sentiment: The firm announced a planned digital wallet for tokenized assets (targeted H2 2026). That complements the ETF filings by creating on‑platform custody/ux capabilities and supports future product cross-sell to wealth clients — strategically material for MS’s digital-asset roadmap. Morgan Stanley Announces Digital Wallet Launch To Support Tokenized Assets In 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage/upgrades: Zacks moved MS to a Strong Buy (Zacks Rank #1) and included it on a Strong Buy income list — these endorsements can lift demand from quantitative and retail buyers in the short term. Morgan Stanley (MS) Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Internal capacity to do deals appears to be rising — the firm promoted many staff to managing director after a dealmaking revival, a signal that investment banking activity (M&A, advisory) is recovering, which is a cyclical revenue lever for MS. Morgan Stanley boosts managing director ranks after dealmaking revival, memo shows
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings calendar: Morgan Stanley is expected to report next week; consensus expects earnings growth. The upcoming print is a clear near-term catalyst — a beat would likely lift sentiment, while any guidance cut or weaker fee trends could pressure shares. Morgan Stanley (MS) Reports Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst tone: JPMorgan raised its MS price target slightly but kept a Neutral rating, which (given the current share level) implies downside per that shop and may moderate investor upside expectations. Differing analyst signals can cap momentum even as strategic initiatives are rolled out. Analyst note (Benzinga)

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $184.70 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $188.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

About Morgan Stanley

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.