Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $186.41 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $188.82. The company has a market cap of $296.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $172.98 and its 200-day moving average is $158.02.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.