Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 269,972 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 763,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 269,972 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.5% of Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $121,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Next Level Private LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 26,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,165,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Steinberganna Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $477,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $184.70 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $188.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.85.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley filed spot crypto ETF registrations (Bitcoin, Solana and a spot Ethereum trust that may include staking), expanding its wealth-product suite and distribution reach — a potential long-term revenue and brand win for its wealth-management channels. Morgan Stanley Files Third Crypto ETF In 48 Hours
• Positive Sentiment: The bank said it will launch a digital wallet in H2 2026 to support tokenized assets, signaling product expansion into custody/staking and providing another potential distribution channel for crypto services. Morgan Stanley Announces Digital Wallet Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Internal dealmaking activity appears to be picking up — Morgan Stanley promoted ~184 employees to managing director after a revival in M&A and capital-markets activity, supporting higher IB fees if deal flow continues. Managing Director Promotions After Dealmaking Revival
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment: Zacks upgraded MS to a Strong Buy and also added MS to a dividend/income list — these endorsements can attract flows from model/quant and income-focused investors. MS Upgraded to Strong Buy by Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s CIO Mike Wilson reiterated confidence in earnings growth and called out consumer stocks as a key opportunity — supportive macro/sentiment commentary from senior research can lift investor conviction. Mike Wilson Sees ‘Crystal Clear’ Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term event risk: Morgan Stanley reports earnings next week and Wall Street expects earnings growth — the report will be a catalyst that could reinforce or reverse today’s move depending on results and guidance. MS Reports Next Week—Street Expects Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/analyst caution: some firms (including a recent JPMorgan note) have kept neutral ratings or signaled limited upside vs. current price — that can cap gains if investors shift to profit-taking or rotate into larger perceived winners.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and competitive risks in crypto: launching ETFs and staking features attracts SEC and compliance scrutiny and puts Morgan Stanley in a crowded ETF field — any regulatory pushback or slow asset flows would be a near-term drag on the trade.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.