Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Sold by NFSG Corp

NFSG Corp cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,069 shares during the quarter. NFSG Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $180.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company has a market cap of $285.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $204.40 and its 200 day moving average is $203.48. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.86.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.