Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Raised by Root Financial Partners LLC

Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 91.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,976 shares during the quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $183.77 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25. 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 company 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.27.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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 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.