During the third quarter, Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 63.9%, acquiring an additional 18,800 shares to bring its total to 48,243 shares valued at $7.67 million. Vanguard Group added 1.1% to its position in the second quarter, now holding 119.12 million shares valued at $16.78 billion. Fisher Asset Management expanded its stake by 3.2%, bringing its total to 24.05 million shares worth $3.39 billion, while Norges Bank initiated a new position valued at approximately $2.23 billion. Ameriprise Financial lifted its stake by 2.9% to 13.44 million shares ($1.89 billion), and Charles Schwab Investment Management grew its holding by 0.3% to 10.98 million shares ($1.55 billion). Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.19% of the company’s outstanding shares.

In its most recent quarterly report, Morgan Stanley delivered earnings per share of $2.80, beating consensus estimates by $0.73. Revenue for the period reached $17.98 billion, an 18.5% year-over-year increase and surpassing analysts’ forecasts of $16.42 billion. Return on equity stood at 16.4% with a net margin of 13.85%. The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing an annualized payout of $4.00 and a yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 41.03%.

Chief Executive Officer James Gorman sold 100,000 shares in late October, generating proceeds of $16.43 million and reducing his holding by 14.8% to 574,986 shares valued at approximately $94.5 million. Corporate insiders account for just 0.19% of outstanding shares. On the research front, three analysts maintain a strong buy rating, eight recommend buy and seven rate the stock a hold, resulting in an overall consensus of Moderate Buy among the broker community.