Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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 Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $214.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $216.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $145.65 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during 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 period last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. 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. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. 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 note on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

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.