NBT Bank N.A. Acquires 12,960 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• NBT Bank acquired 12,960 Morgan Stanley shares during the third quarter, representing an investment of approximately $2.44 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.62, although some firms recently adjusted their targets.
• Morgan Stanley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.03 in earnings per share and $20.34 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equal to a 2.5% annualized yield.

NBT Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st 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 boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 2nd 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 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,040,227,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 worth $1,190,585,000 after buying an additional 65,739 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $183.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.27. The stock has a market cap of $289.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, alongside Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, reportedly captured nearly 80% of the top five banks’ equity-trading revenue this year, generating a combined $52 billion. The surge was driven by heavy hedge-fund borrowing and leveraged activity tied to artificial intelligence hardware and semiconductor stocks, highlighting strong market-sensitive revenue potential for MS. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are dominating the AI stock boom
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management received the 2026 Money Management Institute/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year award. The recognition reinforces the firm’s competitive position in advisory services and supports the longer-term growth case for its fee-based wealth-management business. Morgan Stanley Named 2026 Money Management Institute/Barron’s Wealth Management Advisory Platform of the Year
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to focus on whether Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management operations can help stabilize performance. That business provides recurring fees and diversification from more cyclical investment-banking and trading results. Can Wealth Management Keep Morgan Stanley Steady?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley named Howmet Aerospace its top aerospace pick for the third quarter, replacing FTAI Aviation. The report reflects the firm’s research and advisory activity rather than a direct change to Morgan Stanley’s earnings outlook, so the effect on MS is limited. Morgan Stanley Names Top Aerospace Pick to Replace FTAI
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage questioning whether Morgan Stanley can sustain its valuation may be contributing to profit-taking after the recent run-up. At approximately 14.6 times earnings, the stock remains exposed to concerns about slowing growth or weaker capital-markets activity. Can Morgan Stanley Sustain Its Valuation?
• Negative Sentiment: Reported ETF net selling of Morgan Stanley shares on October 19 represents a near-term technical headwind, potentially adding to downside pressure even without a new fundamental deterioration. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.

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