Corient Private Wealth LP Sells 157,621 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Corient Private Wealth LP trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,528,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,621 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $319,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley remains viewed favorably by some analysts and commentators because of its strong investment-banking and wealth-management businesses, recent earnings momentum, and valuation that is still described as attractive relative to other large financial institutions. 4 Thriving Investment Bank Behemoths to Buy With Attractive Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is partnering with OpenAI to develop ChatGPT-based financial-services tools for Wall Street. The initiative could strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology position and create longer-term efficiency or client-service benefits, although near-term financial effects remain unclear. OpenAI courts Wall Street with ChatGPT for financial services, developed with Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed strong operating momentum: earnings per share of $3.46 exceeded expectations, revenue reached $21.35 billion, and revenue increased 27.1% year over year. Those results provide fundamental support, but they are not a new catalyst in the current session.
• Negative Sentiment: Market-wide risk aversion is weighing on financial stocks. Morgan Stanley strategists have identified higher oil prices and interest rates as key risks to equities, while rising yields can pressure valuations and reduce investor appetite for economically sensitive stocks. Brent Tops $100 as Morgan Stanley Warns Oil, Rates Are Main Risks to Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: After gaining more than 20% over the past six months, Morgan Stanley may be vulnerable to profit-taking. The latest commentary specifically noted that the stock’s decline was more pronounced than the broader market, suggesting investors are locking in gains or reassessing its valuation rather than responding to a major deterioration in fundamentals. Morgan Stanley Sees a More Significant Dip Than Broader Market

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $212.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $335.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $151.84 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.00 and a 200-day moving average of $198.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

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. 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.