4,846 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Focused Alpha LLC

Focused Alpha LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $911,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $178.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $203.68 and a 200-day moving average of $203.90. The company has a market capitalization of $281.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was identified as one of the most oversold financial stocks, alongside Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. That positioning could attract bargain hunters and support a rebound if sentiment toward banks improves. Top 3 Financial Stocks Which Could Rescue Your Portfolio In Q4
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its price target for Morgan Stanley from $215 to $210 but maintained an Outperform rating. The revised target still implies meaningful upside from the stock’s referenced price, signaling that the analyst views the recent weakness as an opportunity rather than a deterioration in the long-term outlook. BMO Capital Markets Price Target Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists continue to argue that investors should prepare to add risk as a broader equity-market pullback potentially nears its end. A recovery in risk appetite could benefit investment banking, wealth management and trading activity, although this is a market-level view rather than a new forecast for Morgan Stanley’s earnings. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says Get Ready to Buy as Stock Drop Ends
• Negative Sentiment: The lower BMO price target provides a modest negative signal and reinforces concerns that near-term upside may be constrained, even though the firm retained its bullish rating.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.