3,059 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Howland Capital Management LLC

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,059 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,040,227,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $295,482,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $110,938,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,410,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,092,000 after buying an additional 666,754 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.62.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, alongside Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, reportedly captured nearly 80% of the top five banks’ equity-trading revenue this year, generating a combined $52 billion. The surge was driven by heavy hedge-fund borrowing and leveraged activity tied to artificial intelligence hardware and semiconductor stocks, highlighting strong market-sensitive revenue potential for MS. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are dominating the AI stock boom
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management received the 2026 Money Management Institute/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year award. The recognition reinforces the firm’s competitive position in advisory services and supports the longer-term growth case for its fee-based wealth-management business. Morgan Stanley Named 2026 Money Management Institute/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to focus on whether Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management operations can help stabilize performance. That business provides recurring fees and diversification from more cyclical investment-banking and trading results. Can Wealth Management Keep Morgan Stanley Steady?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley named Howmet Aerospace its top aerospace pick for the third quarter, replacing FTAI Aviation. The report reflects the firm’s research and advisory activity rather than a direct change to Morgan Stanley’s earnings outlook, so the effect on MS is limited. Morgan Stanley Names Top Aerospace Pick to Replace FTAI
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage questioning whether Morgan Stanley can sustain its valuation may be contributing to profit-taking after the recent run-up. At approximately 14.6 times earnings, the stock remains exposed to concerns about slowing growth or weaker capital-markets activity. Can Morgan Stanley Sustain Its Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: Reported ETF net selling of Morgan Stanley shares on October 19 represents a near-term technical headwind, potentially adding to downside pressure even without a new fundamental deterioration. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $183.77 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $201.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

About Morgan Stanley

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.