Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,315 shares during the quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $8,854,000. Arsenal Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 71,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,724,000 after buying an additional 11,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 764,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,736,000 after acquiring an additional 20,783 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.
Key Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Potentially major Anthropic IPO role: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly close to receiving leading roles in Anthropic’s anticipated IPO, which could involve a valuation near $2 trillion. The deal would strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology and equity-underwriting franchise and provide a potentially meaningful source of fees and future business. Anthropic is also reportedly arranging a $15 billion revolving credit facility, with Morgan Stanley leading the process. Anthropic close to awarding Morgan Stanley and Goldman top roles in $2tn IPO
- Positive Sentiment: Strong recent earnings backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue up 27.1% year over year and earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 consensus estimate. The performance supports investor confidence in the firm’s trading, investment-banking and wealth-management businesses.
- Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing conference and client activity: Morgan Stanley is hosting its 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, while companies including Tempus, Attovia Therapeutics, Eaton and Southwest Airlines are scheduled to present. These events reinforce the firm’s role in institutional research and client engagement but are unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Tempus to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
- Negative Sentiment: Copyright dispute with X: Morgan Stanley has filed complaints against at least 16 X posts that allegedly shared copyrighted research and temporarily locked a prominent strategist’s account. The action may protect valuable intellectual property, but it also creates reputational and legal uncertainty and could disrupt the firm’s visibility on a major platform used by investors. Morgan Stanley Hands Elon Musk a New X Headache
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
MS stock opened at $217.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $215.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.68. The stock has a market cap of $343.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $146.29 and a 1 year high of $232.25.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Morgan Stanley 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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