Morgan Stanley $MS Stock: Consolidated Investment Group LLC Increases Position

Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 59,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.0% of Consolidated Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Consolidated Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of 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 valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second 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 period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the second 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 period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second 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 period. Finally, Bank OZK lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $187.13 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $194.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a market cap of $295.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vinyl Equity adds tools for cap-table management, equity administration and share transfers across private and public markets. The acquisition also includes digital-asset infrastructure, supporting Morgan Stanley’s effort to connect company equity services with its wealth-management business. Financial terms were not disclosed. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Positive Sentiment: The strategic rationale is the opportunity to serve companies and employees through the IPO process and beyond. Coverage cited IPO-related flows as a meaningful contributor to Morgan Stanley’s recent wealth-asset inflows, though the potential benefits depend on IPO activity and successful integration of Vinyl. Morgan Stanley buys Vinyl Equity to capture more IPO wealth
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report says Morgan Stanley is trimming exposure to data-center construction loans as AI financing shifts toward private-credit funds and asset managers. This changes the bank’s exposure to the sector, but the article does not quantify the financial impact. Morgan Stanley Trims Data Center Loan Exposure As AI Financing Shifts

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals.

Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.

Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley serves clients in the United States and across international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.