Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from TD Cowen

Posted by Francis Steltz on Oct 18th, 2026

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) had its price target lowered by TD Cowen from $210.00 to $205.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MS has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.86.

Get Our Latest Analysis on MS

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.73 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $152.80 and a 12 month high of $232.25. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.48. The company has a market cap of $285.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crown Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Get 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.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.