Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 15,019.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 225,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,791 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 2.7% of Vestor Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.50.
Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.4%
Shares of MS opened at $210.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $331.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $215.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 32.34%.
Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst raises earnings forecasts: Erste Group Bank lifted its Morgan Stanley EPS estimates to $12.82 for fiscal 2026 and $13.65 for fiscal 2027, above consensus estimates of $12.78 and $12.68, respectively. The firm maintained a Buy rating. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimates
- Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly momentum remains supportive: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed EPS of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. The results reinforced expectations for continued earnings growth across investment banking, trading and wealth management.
- Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity signals bullish positioning: Traders purchased 40,133 Morgan Stanley call options, approximately 123% above average call volume. Options activity can amplify near-term momentum, though it is not a guarantee of future performance.
- Positive Sentiment: Visibility with major technology investors: Morgan Stanley hosted a closed-door roadshow featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang said rising demand for AI computing could lift corporate revenue and GDP, highlighting the investment bank’s role in capturing AI-related advisory, capital-markets and wealth-management opportunities. Nvidia CEO joins Morgan Stanley roadshow
- Positive Sentiment: Expansion of investment products: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products with staking features and 0.14% fees, extending its cryptocurrency product lineup beyond its Bitcoin offering. This could create additional fee revenue and strengthen the firm’s competitive position in digital assets. Morgan Stanley launches Ethereum and Solana ETPs
- Neutral Sentiment: Market backdrop remains mixed: Morgan Stanley research has highlighted opportunities in quality stocks amid elevated valuations, geopolitical uncertainty and questions about returns on AI infrastructure spending. These conditions may support advisory and trading activity but could also increase market volatility.
- Negative Sentiment: Mortgage-practices allegations: A report alleged that some Morgan Stanley bankers were pressured to approve mortgages for wealthy clients. If substantiated, the issue could lead to regulatory scrutiny, legal costs or reputational damage. Report on Morgan Stanley mortgage allegations
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.
The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.
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