Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 6,162 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,162 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,005,000 after buying an additional 749,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,234,883,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,438,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,023,000 after acquiring an additional 374,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,546,659,000 after acquiring an additional 28,420 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.85.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed for spot Ethereum ETFs and has been active with in‑house spot Bitcoin and Solana trust filings — signaling a broadening of its crypto product shelf and potential to capture institutional distribution and fee flows. Morgan Stanley Files for Spot Ethereum ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: MS announced plans to launch a digital wallet in H2 2026 to support tokenized assets — an infrastructure move that complements its ETF filings and may expand custody, trading and advisory revenue opportunities. Morgan Stanley Announces Digital Wallet Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Firm promotions: Morgan Stanley elevated 184 employees to managing director amid a dealmaking revival — this suggests ramped investment banking coverage capacity and potential for higher advisory and M&A fees. Morgan Stanley Appoints 184 New Managing Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst momentum: several outlets and research notes have turned more constructive (Zacks upgrade / other bullish commentary) ahead of MS’s upcoming earnings, supporting sentiment that the firm can beat expectations on wealth management and trading. Morgan Stanley Upgraded to Strong Buy (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged macro/FX risk around U.S. intervention in Venezuela as a test for the dollar — a market theme that could lift trading volatility (good for trading revenue) but also heighten geopolitical risk. U.S. Intervention in Venezuela a ‘Test for the U.S. Dollar,’ Says Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analyst action is universally bullish — a recent note raised MS’s target modestly but kept a neutral rating (Benzinga summary), implying some strategists see limited near‑term upside from current levels. That creates mixed signals for investors weighing valuation vs. growth. Analyst note: price target change / neutral rating (Benzinga)

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $186.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $172.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.02. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $188.82. The company has a market capitalization of $296.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current 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 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 yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.