Morgan Stanley $MS is Oak Harvest Investment Services’ 6th Largest Position

Oak Harvest Investment Services decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 128,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,794 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 2.4% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $20,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.3% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 30,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 77,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,383,000 after purchasing an additional 6,796 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $179.85 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $182.34. 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 stock has a market cap of $285.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research group named Western Digital (WDC) a 2026 top pick — a reminder that MS’s equity research is active and influential, supporting trading & investment-banking flow and recurring client engagement. Morgan Stanley Names Western Digital (WDC) a 2026 Top Pick Amid Cloud Capital Expenditure Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and analyst activity continue across sectors (healthcare, utilities, data centers), reinforcing MS’s research/revenue mix and institutional relationships—a structural positive for fee and trading businesses. Example coverage includes Zoetis, PG&E, Vistra and Grail. Zoetis (ZTS) Positioned Within Morgan Stanley’s 2026 Healthcare Playbook
• Neutral Sentiment: MS itself is in the headlines as a trending stock (investor attention can increase short-term volatility but isn’t a directional fundamental). Zacks and other outlets have recently highlighted MS for investor interest. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Morgan Stanley (MS) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple Morgan Stanley analyst notes (resumed coverage, target changes across consumer and financial names) signal ongoing research-driven flow but are company-agnostic for MS’s own stock in the near term. Example: resumed coverage of Unilever and target moves on Diageo/Manulife. Morgan Stanley Resumes Coverage of Unilever (UL) with an Overweight View
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional activity tied to Morgan Stanley shows portfolio trimming in some names (e.g., Morgan Stanley reduced its TSLA holdings in recent filings), which can create perception of risk-taking reduction or repositioning by MS-managed funds. That may weigh on sentiment for the firm’s asset-management/trading outlook. $TSLA stock is down 3% today. Here’s what we see in our data.
• Negative Sentiment: TipRanks reports Morgan Stanley ceased to be a substantial holder in West African Resources — a visible example of MS trimming positions that can feed short-term headlines and investor caution even if not material to MS’s financials. Morgan Stanley Ceases to Be Substantial Holder in West African Resources

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $184.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.77.

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.