Graphene Investments SAS cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.9% of Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 4,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.
Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%
Shares of MS opened at $217.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $141.03 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $343.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.74 and its 200-day moving average is $192.55.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Key Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings forecast: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a Buy rating. The estimate is above the broader consensus of $12.79, supporting the view that continued investment-banking, trading and wealth-management strength could drive earnings growth. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimate
- Positive Sentiment: $1.5 trillion innovation initiative: Morgan Stanley launched a U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative targeting approximately $1.5 trillion in capital for infrastructure, technology and national-security-related investment. The program could expand the firm’s role in capital raising, advisory services and asset management, although the financial benefit is expected to develop over time. Morgan Stanley innovation infrastructure initiative
- Positive Sentiment: Real-estate investment deployment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot Ace Hardware distribution facility in Kansas City for $158.5 million through its real-estate funds. The transaction demonstrates continued deployment of client capital and adds to Morgan Stanley’s alternative-investment platform, though it is not expected to materially affect near-term results. Morgan Stanley acquires Kansas City distribution facility
- Neutral Sentiment: Favorable market backdrop: Commentary comparing Morgan Stanley with Bank of America highlighted stronger capital-markets activity, trading volumes and improving investment-banking conditions in the first half of 2026. However, the comparison also noted Morgan Stanley’s relatively higher valuation and greater market exposure, which may limit upside if deal activity or trading conditions weaken. Bank of America versus Morgan Stanley investment comparison
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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