Mission Wealth Management LP Increases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 112.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,172 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Myriad Asset Management Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Myriad Asset Management Advisors LLC now owns 28,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,037,000 after acquiring an additional 4,601 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 40,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,553,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $217.71 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $141.03 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $216.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a market cap of $343.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 19.31%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings forecast: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a Buy rating. The estimate is above the broader consensus of $12.79, supporting the view that continued investment-banking, trading and wealth-management strength could drive earnings growth. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimate
• Positive Sentiment: $1.5 trillion innovation initiative: Morgan Stanley launched a U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative targeting approximately $1.5 trillion in capital for infrastructure, technology and national-security-related investment. The program could expand the firm’s role in capital raising, advisory services and asset management, although the financial benefit is expected to develop over time. Morgan Stanley innovation infrastructure initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Real-estate investment deployment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot Ace Hardware distribution facility in Kansas City for $158.5 million through its real-estate funds. The transaction demonstrates continued deployment of client capital and adds to Morgan Stanley’s alternative-investment platform, though it is not expected to materially affect near-term results. Morgan Stanley acquires Kansas City distribution facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Favorable market backdrop: Commentary comparing Morgan Stanley with Bank of America highlighted stronger capital-markets activity, trading volumes and improving investment-banking conditions in the first half of 2026. However, the comparison also noted Morgan Stanley’s relatively higher valuation and greater market exposure, which may limit upside if deal activity or trading conditions weaken. Bank of America versus Morgan Stanley investment comparison

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.