Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Lowered by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 528,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,923 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $99,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $212,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $180.73. 5,644,483 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,073,885. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $204.40 and a 200 day moving average of $203.48. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.86.

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.