Quantitative Investment Management LLC Sells 3,132 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Quantitative Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,132 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after purchasing an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest earnings showed strong operating momentum: quarterly EPS of $3.46 exceeded estimates of $2.89, revenue reached $21.35 billion versus expectations of $19.67 billion, and revenue increased 27.1% year over year. The results support the longer-term bullish case for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to expand client engagement and trading activity through E*TRADE. Its monthly sector-rotation study provides data on client buying and selling across U.S.-traded stocks, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management and brokerage presence. E*TRADE Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley argued that investors may be focusing on U.S. debt concerns while overlooking broader economic and market risks. The commentary highlights the firm’s macroeconomic expertise but does not provide a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says U.S. Debt Fears Miss Bigger Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s analyst teams remain active, including bullish calls on Robinhood, Broadcom and other growth companies. These calls may support advisory and research visibility, but they are unlikely to materially affect MS stock in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate pressure is macroeconomic: higher long-term yields can increase market volatility, tighten financial conditions and weigh on investor sentiment toward banks and wealth managers. The rate spike also temporarily undermined Morgan Stanley’s technical breakout setup. Morgan Stanley Stock and Treasury Yield Rise

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $211.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.21. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $145.65 and a one year high of $232.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

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.