Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC Purchases 7,401 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 298.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,401 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.7% of Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Galaxy Digital Capital Management GP LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. CICC Research upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $214.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $337.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $136.17 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.