Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Grows Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 350,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $66,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd 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 period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $223.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.43.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposed conversion of eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, holding nearly $10 billion, into ETFs could support fee-based asset growth, improve product appeal and strengthen the firm’s wealth- and investment-management platform. Shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley ETF conversion article
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer expressed support for Morgan Stanley following its pullback, citing the company’s buyback authorization as a reason investors may view the shares favorably. Jim Cramer supports Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually active call-option buying indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound, although options activity is not a direct indicator of fundamental value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a generally constructive view: the stock carries an average price target near $219.90, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels, but the consensus is mixed with buy, hold and sell ratings. Morgan Stanley analyst price target article
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, while TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target. These actions may have reinforced profit-taking and reduced the impact of more bullish views.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also preparing for the next earnings report. Although Morgan Stanley recently delivered a substantial EPS and revenue beat, Zacks said the company lacks the combination of factors that typically supports another likely earnings surprise, increasing caution ahead of results. Morgan Stanley earnings expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness, including declines in major technology and industrial stocks, likely added pressure to financial shares. Morgan Stanley’s beta of 1.22 also makes it more sensitive than the broader market to risk-off trading.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.2%

MS stock opened at $187.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $295.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $151.84 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $207.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.5%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.