DV Trading LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

DV Trading LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 755.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,776 shares during the quarter. DV Trading LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MS opened at $210.93 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $215.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.81. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $136.17 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The stock has a market cap of $332.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 32.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s fiscal 2026 EPS forecast was reportedly increased by an analyst, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings strength following the company’s recent quarterly beat. FY2026 EPS Forecast for Morgan Stanley Boosted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly among the firms discussing financing for a large Texas data-center and power project. Such mandates could benefit its investment-banking, advisory and financing businesses as demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure expands. Morgan Stanley, others in talks to finance data center and power project in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-backed MEMX is set to combine with options exchange BOX in a transaction that gives control of the merged entity to TMX Group. The deal could strengthen Morgan Stanley’s strategic exposure to market infrastructure, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Jane Street-Backed Exchange Sells Control to Canada’s TMX Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s $1.15-per-share cash dividend went ex-dividend on July 31 and is scheduled for payment on August 14. The ex-dividend adjustment can create short-term volatility, but it does not change the company’s underlying earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley’s Dividend Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity, with 40,133 calls traded versus typical daily volume of about 18,021, indicated increased speculative interest in MS shares, though options activity alone does not establish a fundamental catalyst.

About Morgan Stanley

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.