Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 38.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,001 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after acquiring an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,260,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65,246 shares during the period. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $8,854,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. CICC Research lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $214.11 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.97. The company has a market capitalization of $337.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $136.17 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 32.34%.

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

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent earnings results were strong, with the firm beating estimates on both EPS and revenue and posting robust year-over-year growth, which supports the stock’s longer-term fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to receive constructive Wall Street commentary, including a “Moderate Buy” consensus and recent bullish analyst coverage tied to its earnings power and capital markets franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit attracting new assets tied to SpaceX IPO interest, which reinforces the strength of its wealth and investment management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated market stories involving Morgan Stanley analyst calls on other stocks, plus broader AI/capex and earnings-driven volatility across large-cap tech and financials, may be influencing sentiment around MS indirectly.

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.