Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,022,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,489 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $162,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting 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)

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank raised Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $186.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $296.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $188.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.17. 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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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