State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 130,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,262 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $184.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.65. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $188.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed spot crypto ETF registrations (Bitcoin, Solana and a spot Ethereum trust that may include staking), expanding its wealth-product suite and distribution reach — a potential long-term revenue and brand win for its wealth-management channels. Morgan Stanley Files Third Crypto ETF In 48 Hours
• Positive Sentiment: The bank said it will launch a digital wallet in H2 2026 to support tokenized assets, signaling product expansion into custody/staking and providing another potential distribution channel for crypto services. Morgan Stanley Announces Digital Wallet Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Internal dealmaking activity appears to be picking up — Morgan Stanley promoted ~184 employees to managing director after a revival in M&A and capital-markets activity, supporting higher IB fees if deal flow continues. Managing Director Promotions After Dealmaking Revival
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment: Zacks upgraded MS to a Strong Buy and also added MS to a dividend/income list — these endorsements can attract flows from model/quant and income-focused investors. MS Upgraded to Strong Buy by Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s CIO Mike Wilson reiterated confidence in earnings growth and called out consumer stocks as a key opportunity — supportive macro/sentiment commentary from senior research can lift investor conviction. Mike Wilson Sees ‘Crystal Clear’ Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term event risk: Morgan Stanley reports earnings next week and Wall Street expects earnings growth — the report will be a catalyst that could reinforce or reverse today’s move depending on results and guidance. MS Reports Next Week—Street Expects Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/analyst caution: some firms (including a recent JPMorgan note) have kept neutral ratings or signaled limited upside vs. current price — that can cap gains if investors shift to profit-taking or rotate into larger perceived winners.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and competitive risks in crypto: launching ETFs and staking features attracts SEC and compliance scrutiny and puts Morgan Stanley in a crowded ETF field — any regulatory pushback or slow asset flows would be a near-term drag on the trade.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.