Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,960,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,212 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $618,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.4%

MS opened at $215.45 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $151.42 and a 52 week high of $232.25. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.75. The firm has a market cap of $339.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Morgan Stanley as a “quiet execution winner” over newer fintech and blockchain companies, providing favorable retail-investor visibility. Jim Cramer backs Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s most recent reported quarter showed strong operating momentum: earnings per share of $3.46 beat estimates of $2.89, while revenue of $21.35 billion exceeded the $19.67 billion consensus and increased 27.1% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: An opinion article argued that Morgan Stanley may be expensive after its rally, potentially encouraging profit-taking even though the business has delivered strong results. Morgan Stanley valuation commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson warned that oil prices above $100 per barrel and elevated interest rates are among the main near-term risks for stocks. Higher rates can pressure financial-sector valuations and raise concerns about economic growth and capital-markets activity. Morgan Stanley warns on oil and rates
• Negative Sentiment: Merrill Lynch recruited an advisory team from Morgan Stanley as part of a broader $1.8 billion advisor move. While unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings, the departure adds a modest competitive and wealth-management retention overhang. Merrill recruits Morgan Stanley advisors

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.