Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $212.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $186.00 to $212.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $184.70 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $293.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $188.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given 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 payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the 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 owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,343,523,000 after buying an additional 167,487 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,494,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,893,590,000 after buying an additional 448,960 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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)

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.