Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 9,984 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,984 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.2% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 136,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,893,000 after buying an additional 9,416 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day moving average of $136.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.