QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $58.45 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,010 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during 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 period. 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 lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: The leaked internal document reportedly listed more than 100 investment-banking deals that Morgan Stanley is pitching or monitoring in Asia. While the disclosure is a reputational concern, the size of the pipeline may signal continued advisory and underwriting activity. Morgan Stanley Investment-Bank Deal List Leaked in Email Misfire
• Positive Sentiment: A reported $720 million Accelevation IPO entering the queue points to a recovering investment-banking cycle, although Morgan Stanley’s role and fee have not been disclosed. More capital-markets activity could support future advisory and underwriting revenue. Morgan Stanley Falls as AI IPO Enters Queue
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts highlighted ServiceTitan, CCC and Via as potential beneficiaries of consumer-agent adoption. The research may reinforce the firm’s technology and thematic-research profile, but it does not represent a direct earnings catalyst for MS. ServiceTitan, CCC and Via Might Receive a Boost From Consumer Agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also published a list of “overweight” stocks ahead of earnings season and reiterated that strong earnings and cash flow are increasingly important in a higher-rate environment. This is more relevant to the firm’s research franchise than to near-term company financials. Morgan Stanley Names Its Overweight Stocks to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley staffer reportedly misfired an email containing confidential details about more than 100 investment-banking deals in Asia. The firm apologized and is investigating; potential client, regulatory and reputational consequences likely outweighed the positive signal from the underlying deal pipeline. Morgan Stanley Apologizes for Misfired Email

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.87 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $198.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,341,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,201,396. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $200.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $151.84 and a one year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.