Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

02 Nov 2026, 07:03 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 201,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,120 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.1% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.62.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on MS

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Positive Sentiment: Strong deal activity supports investment-banking momentum. Morgan Stanley ranked among the leading advisers by deal value in the automotive, technology, media and telecom, and power sectors during the first three quarters of 2026. Sustained M&A activity could support advisory-fee revenue. Mitsubishi UFJ and Morgan Stanley lead automotive M&A financial advisers’ list Morgan Stanley leads TMT M&A advisers
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is participating in a large AI infrastructure financing. The firm is part of a reported $63 billion financing structure involving Blackstone, Bank of America, and Citigroup to fund AI computing equipment leased to Anthropic. The transaction may create fee income and reinforce MS’s position in rapidly growing AI-related capital markets. Wall Street’s New $63 Billion AI Deal
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst visibility remains high, but investor attention is focused on valuation. Morgan Stanley was among the most-watched stocks on Zacks, while commentary questioned whether its strong multiyear rally and current valuation are justified by returns on capital and future earnings growth. Shares were recently below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling continued technical pressure.
Negative Sentiment: AI exposure also introduces risk concerns. Commentary on the Anthropic financing warned that lenders and investors could face losses if AI hardware becomes obsolete, utilization disappoints, or AI-related valuations decline. Such concerns may weigh on sentiment toward MS even though the deal offers potential fee opportunities. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After AI Deal Wins?

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

MS stock opened at $184.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $198.11 and its 200 day moving average is $194.29. The stock has a market cap of $290.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.