Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Sells 2,400 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. CICC Research increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent earnings results were strong, with the firm beating estimates on both EPS and revenue and posting robust year-over-year growth, which supports the stock’s longer-term fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to receive constructive Wall Street commentary, including a “Moderate Buy” consensus and recent bullish analyst coverage tied to its earnings power and capital markets franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit attracting new assets tied to SpaceX IPO interest, which reinforces the strength of its wealth and investment management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated market stories involving Morgan Stanley analyst calls on other stocks, plus broader AI/capex and earnings-driven volatility across large-cap tech and financials, may be influencing sentiment around MS indirectly.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $214.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $337.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $213.93 and its 200-day moving average is $189.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $136.17 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. 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. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board 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.