Morgan Stanley $MS Stock: Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 491,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,708 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $92,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $180.24 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $284.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $202.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.00. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.62.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Chief U.S. equity strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction is likely in its “final innings” and projected the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027. His recommendation for investors to prepare to add risk may support Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management, investment-banking and trading businesses by improving client confidence and market activity. Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson market outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage has highlighted Morgan Stanley as an oversold financial stock with potential for a fourth-quarter rebound. That positioning may be encouraging bargain hunters, particularly given the company’s recent earnings beat, revenue growth and nearly 20% return on equity. Oversold financial stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target to $210 from $215 but maintained an “Outperform” rating, implying analysts still see upside while modestly reducing their valuation expectations. Separate coverage described analyst opinions on MS as mixed, suggesting the stock’s recovery could remain sensitive to valuation and market conditions. Mixed analyst opinions on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley 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.