Morgan Stanley $MS Stock: Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Raises Position

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 85.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,213 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,040,227,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,482,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $110,938,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley plans to support tokenized equities on its alternative trading system, potentially strengthening its position in digital-market infrastructure and expanding future trading opportunities. Morgan Stanley Plans Tokenized Equities Support on Its Alternative Trading System
• Positive Sentiment: Options markets indicate meaningful potential for an earnings-driven move, which could benefit the stock if Morgan Stanley beats expectations or offers constructive guidance on investment banking and wealth management. Options Market Earnings Volatility
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reports third-quarter results on October 14 alongside Bank of America, BlackRock and State Street. Investors are likely to focus on net interest income, asset flows, trading revenue and investment-banking activity. Polymarket Odds on Morgan Stanley Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s recent decline followed a cooling in enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings, two important drivers of Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking outlook. Options pricing suggests investors see a possible rebound toward $205, but uncertainty remains. Morgan Stanley Stock Selloff Cools Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2026 EPS forecast slightly to $12.79 from $12.83 and maintained a Hold rating. The reduction reinforces cautious sentiment ahead of results, although the estimate remains close to the broader consensus of $12.66. Morgan Stanley Earnings Estimate Revision
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market strategist has warned that a stronger dollar, higher Treasury yields and elevated energy prices are tightening financial conditions. Higher rates can weigh on asset valuations, borrowing demand and capital-markets activity. Morgan Stanley Strategist on Bond Market Conditions

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $3.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $186.61. 8,200,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,158,840. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.88 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.20. The stock has a market cap of $294.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost 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 currently 37.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $223.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.43.

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.