Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Buys 4,503 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 224,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,197,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. E6 Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $267,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $492,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 124,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,456,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $187.11 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $199.60 and a 200-day moving average of $194.25. The company has a market capitalization of $295.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic IPO role adds fee and prestige potential: Morgan Stanley was named a lead underwriter for Anthropic’s upcoming initial public offering, alongside Goldman Sachs. The mandate could generate substantial underwriting fees and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s position in high-profile technology and AI capital-markets transactions. In Anthropic IPO, Goldman and Morgan Stanley Slug It Out for Top Bank
• Positive Sentiment: AI financing opportunity expands: Morgan Stanley is among the banks committed to a reported $63 billion financing arrangement supporting Broadcom’s AI infrastructure deployments for Anthropic. The deal could provide financing revenue and deepen the firm’s relationships across the fast-growing AI ecosystem. Broadcom Anthropic $63 Billion Financing Banks
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth Management growth is supported by AI: Morgan Stanley is using AI to improve advisor productivity, increase asset-gathering capacity and reduce operating friction. Record Wealth Management revenue in the third quarter provides a favorable base for recurring fee growth if these productivity gains continue. Can AI Adoption Sustain Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking franchise remains active: Morgan Stanley advised on approximately $235.2 billion of European mergers and acquisitions during the first three quarters of 2026, underscoring its strong market position. However, the immediate earnings impact will depend on transaction timing and fee realization. Morgan Stanley, Rothschild Lead Europe M&A Financial Advisers Rankings
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risks could pressure valuations and trading sentiment: Morgan Stanley economist Michael Gapen said investors should not assume the Federal Reserve is finished raising rates, while the firm’s strategists warned that support for semiconductor stocks could be materially lower. Higher-for-longer rates and weaker risk appetite could weigh on asset-management flows, deal activity and market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley Economist Discusses Future Fed Hikes

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.