Krane Financial Solutions LLC Invests $854,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Krane Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $854,000. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 0.6% of Krane Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MS opened at $210.93 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $332.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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 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.

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.