Gabelli Funds LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 181,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,875 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $214.11 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $213.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $136.17 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $337.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.50.

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.