Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 47,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,978,000. Morgan Stanley makes up about 6.4% of Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. CICC Research increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.
Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%
Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $145.65 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.32.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, 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 was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds support the outlook: Zacks identified Morgan Stanley among investment banks positioned to benefit from increased technology spending, active trading, and stronger underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a fundamental support: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. However, these results were released earlier and do not represent a fresh trading catalyst.
- Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains visible: Morgan Stanley was listed among institutional buyers in recent Indian transactions involving Purple Style Labs and Lenskart. These deals may generate advisory or underwriting revenue, but the announcements do not appear material enough to directly affect MS shares. Purple Style Raises Funds Ahead of IPO
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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