Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Buys 5,911 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,911 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after purchasing an additional 87,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. CICC Research increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $214.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $338.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $216.44 and its two-hundred 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a boost 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 currently 37.19%.

Trending Headlines about 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.