Weekly Research Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Morgan Stanley (MS)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) recently:

• 4/7/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by Daiwa Securities Group Inc. from $187.00 to $175.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/7/2026 – Morgan Stanley was upgraded by UBS Group AG from “neutral” to “buy”. They now have a $196.00 price target on the stock, up from $195.00.
• 4/6/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $172.00 to $186.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/6/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $190.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 4/6/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by Evercore Inc from $215.00 to $190.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 4/1/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by HSBC Holdings plc from $175.00 to $153.00. They now have a “hold” rating on the stock.
• 4/1/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by Rothschild & Co Redburn from $175.00 to $171.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/1/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by Wolfe Research from $221.00 to $197.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 3/23/2026 – Morgan Stanley was downgraded by Zacks Research from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 3/10/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $173.00 to $179.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/9/2026 – Morgan Stanley was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 3/5/2026 – Morgan Stanley had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by Erste Group Bank AG.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.