Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Position Lessened by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 293,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,423 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $55,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $2,040,227,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $295,482,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,938,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.27. 2,233,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,147,602. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $208.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $295.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $151.84 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating but assigned a $210 price target, implying potential upside from recent trading levels. TD Cowen initiates Morgan Stanley coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer backed Morgan Stanley following its pullback, citing the company’s buyback authorization and arguing that the shares could be attractive after the broader financial-sector selloff. Jim Cramer backs Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley proposed converting eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, with nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could support fund flows, product competitiveness and fee-related revenue, although shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley ETF conversions
• Positive Sentiment: The firm was selected as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned digitally native government bond, creating potential underwriting, distribution and advisory revenue. UK digitally native government bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed traders buying 26,930 MS call options, 63% above average daily volume. This may indicate bullish positioning, but it does not guarantee buying in the underlying shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average recommendation remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target near $219.90, but the consensus includes a sizable number of Hold ratings. Morgan Stanley analyst consensus
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, adding to concerns about limited near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Preview coverage says Morgan Stanley lacks the usual combination of factors supporting a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report, potentially weighing on expectations despite projected earnings growth. Morgan Stanley earnings expectations

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $223.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.43.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.