Somerville Kurt F Invests $1.30 Million in Morgan Stanley $MS

Somerville Kurt F purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s disclosed 5.6% stake in quantum-computing company IonQ highlights continued participation in emerging technology themes and could create potential investment-banking or asset-management opportunities. Morgan Stanley Discloses 5.6% Stake in IonQ
• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks analysis characterizes Morgan Stanley as an attractive dividend stock, reinforcing the investment case for income-oriented shareholders. The company recently delivered a strong earnings beat, with revenue up 27.1% year over year, supporting confidence in its ability to maintain shareholder distributions. Why Morgan Stanley Is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly among the banks arranging financing for Anthropic ahead of a potential initial public offering. The mandate could generate fees and strengthen the firm’s position in artificial-intelligence-related capital markets, although the article contains forward-looking and promotional claims that have not been independently verified. The Pre-IPO Playbook: How to Cash in on Anthropic Before the Bell
• Negative Sentiment: Former Morgan Stanley advisor Elizabeth Hobson has accused the firm of gender- and disability-based workplace discrimination, alleging inappropriate management pressure, confidentiality breaches and denial of medical leave. The claims are not established findings, but they create potential legal, compliance and reputational risks for investors. What Is Morgan Stanley Being Accused Of?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Dbs Bank lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $214.30 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $141.03 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.81. The company has a market cap of $338.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s 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.