Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Boosted by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 215,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,621 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $40,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 11,726 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after buying an additional 30,010 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after acquiring an additional 28,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,635,000 after acquiring an additional 287,056 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, reportedly captured nearly 80% of the top five banks’ equity-trading revenue so far in 2026, generating a combined $52 billion. Demand from hedge funds for leveraged artificial-intelligence and semiconductor trades has been a major growth driver for the firm’s markets business. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are dominating the AI stock boom
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist, Mike Wilson, said the market correction is nearing its end and projected the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027. A more optimistic market outlook could support wealth-management assets, investment banking activity and trading volumes. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson Says Market Correction Nearly Over
• Positive Sentiment: The firm named Howmet Aerospace its top aerospace-sector pick, replacing FTAI Aviation, signaling continued confidence in aerospace investment-banking and research activity ahead of third-quarter earnings. Morgan Stanley Names Top Aerospace Pick to Replace FTAI
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Single Advisory Platform won the 2026 MMI/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year award, reinforcing the strength of its advisory franchise and brand. Morgan Stanley Named 2026 Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage describes Morgan Stanley as one of the more oversold financial stocks, which may attract bargain hunters but also underscores ongoing concerns about valuation and sector volatility. Top 3 Financial Stocks Which Could Rescue Your Portfolio In Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of Morgan Stanley shares on October 19, creating a potential source of near-term selling pressure. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: A report questioning the yield offered by Morgan Stanley’s Series A preferred securities may weigh on income-oriented investor sentiment, although the issue relates primarily to the preferred stock rather than the common shares. Morgan Stanley Series A Preferreds: Yield Falls Short

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. UBS Group decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of MS stock opened at $186.83 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $202.37 and a 200-day moving average of $204.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $294.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.