Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from BMO Capital Markets

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:MS opened at $186.83 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, reportedly captured nearly 80% of the top five banks’ equity-trading revenue so far in 2026, generating a combined $52 billion. Demand from hedge funds for leveraged artificial-intelligence and semiconductor trades has been a major growth driver for the firm’s markets business. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are dominating the AI stock boom
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist, Mike Wilson, said the market correction is nearing its end and projected the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027. A more optimistic market outlook could support wealth-management assets, investment banking activity and trading volumes. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson Says Market Correction Nearly Over
• Positive Sentiment: The firm named Howmet Aerospace its top aerospace-sector pick, replacing FTAI Aviation, signaling continued confidence in aerospace investment-banking and research activity ahead of third-quarter earnings. Morgan Stanley Names Top Aerospace Pick to Replace FTAI
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s Single Advisory Platform won the 2026 MMI/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year award, reinforcing the strength of its advisory franchise and brand. Morgan Stanley Named 2026 Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage describes Morgan Stanley as one of the more oversold financial stocks, which may attract bargain hunters but also underscores ongoing concerns about valuation and sector volatility. Top 3 Financial Stocks Which Could Rescue Your Portfolio In Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of Morgan Stanley shares on October 19, creating a potential source of near-term selling pressure. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: A report questioning the yield offered by Morgan Stanley’s Series A preferred securities may weigh on income-oriented investor sentiment, although the issue relates primarily to the preferred stock rather than the common shares. Morgan Stanley Series A Preferreds: Yield Falls Short

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.