Quantitative Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Quantitative Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,132 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $211.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.90. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $145.65 and a 12 month high of $232.25. 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 cap of $332.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest earnings showed strong operating momentum: quarterly EPS of $3.46 exceeded estimates of $2.89, revenue reached $21.35 billion versus expectations of $19.67 billion, and revenue increased 27.1% year over year. The results support the longer-term bullish case for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to expand client engagement and trading activity through E*TRADE. Its monthly sector-rotation study provides data on client buying and selling across U.S.-traded stocks, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management and brokerage presence. E*TRADE Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley argued that investors may be focusing on U.S. debt concerns while overlooking broader economic and market risks. The commentary highlights the firm’s macroeconomic expertise but does not provide a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says U.S. Debt Fears Miss Bigger Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s analyst teams remain active, including bullish calls on Robinhood, Broadcom and other growth companies. These calls may support advisory and research visibility, but they are unlikely to materially affect MS stock in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate pressure is macroeconomic: higher long-term yields can increase market volatility, tighten financial conditions and weigh on investor sentiment toward banks and wealth managers. The rate spike also temporarily undermined Morgan Stanley’s technical breakout setup. Morgan Stanley Stock and Treasury Yield Rise

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.