Talon Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Talon Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,228 shares during the quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $214.41. 3,928,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,194,223. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $151.84 and a 52-week high of $232.25. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.02. The company has a market capitalization of $338.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.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. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.8 EPS for the current 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley highlighted an estimated $80 billion opportunity for Tesla’s electric and autonomous Semi trucks, supported by record diesel prices. The research reinforces the firm’s position in high-profile growth themes and may support sentiment toward its advisory and research businesses. Morgan Stanley Sees $80 Billion Tesla Semi Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley remains part of a group of large investment banks viewed as attractively valued after strong six-month gains, with analysts citing potential support from investment banking, trading and wealth-management activity. 4 Thriving Investment Bank Behemoths to Buy With Attractive Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s collaboration with OpenAI on ChatGPT for financial services gives the company an opportunity to improve advisor productivity and client service while strengthening its technology positioning among major banks. OpenAI Courts Wall Street With ChatGPT for Financial Services
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s recent pullback relative to the broader market has drawn attention, but the company’s latest quarterly results remain a strong fundamental backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded expectations, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year. Morgan Stanley Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s cautious view of the sportswear industry—citing fragmentation, heavy promotions and weak consumer sponsorship—could weigh modestly on sentiment toward its research and sector-exposure businesses, although it is not a direct company earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley’s Preferred Sportswear Stock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.