Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,001 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.8% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in 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 last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Morgan Stanley News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley hired Adam Kweskin, a diversified-industries banker from Bank of America, to join its Global Industrials Investment Banking Group. The addition could strengthen the firm’s dealmaking capacity and support investment-banking fees if corporate activity remains robust. Morgan Stanley hires BofA’s Kweskin to cover diversified industries
- Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted improving capital-markets conditions and continued strength in Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management business, reinforcing the investment case for its more diversified revenue mix. Why Is Wealth Management Anchoring Morgan Stanley?
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-led banks are reportedly preparing to distribute approximately $15 billion of debt associated with a Google-backed Anthropic data center. The transaction underscores Morgan Stanley’s opportunity to generate fees from the rapidly expanding artificial-intelligence infrastructure financing market. Morgan Stanley-led banks to offload debt tied to Anthropic data center
- Neutral Sentiment: Approval of a key element of Morgan Stanley’s proposed billion-dollar Dallas regional hub represents a long-term investment in its operating footprint, though the project is not expected to materially affect near-term earnings. Morgan Stanley’s possible downtown hub gets sign approval
- Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s second-quarter Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund update provides additional visibility into its private-credit platform, but the available report does not include enough detail to determine a meaningful impact on MS valuation. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Posts Q2 2026 Results
- Negative Sentiment: Another Morgan Stanley banker reportedly moved to Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, highlighting the ongoing risk of losing experienced dealmakers as global energy and investment activity intensifies. Another Morgan Stanley Banker Lands Top Investment Role at ADNOC
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Argus raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley Company Profile
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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