Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 39.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,952 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 15,019.5% in the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 225,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,074,000 after acquiring an additional 223,791 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 69,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 7,581 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.0% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.4% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MS opened at $210.93 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $332.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $215.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 32.34%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s fiscal 2026 EPS forecast was reportedly increased by an analyst, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings strength following the company’s recent quarterly beat. FY2026 EPS Forecast for Morgan Stanley Boosted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly among the firms discussing financing for a large Texas data-center and power project. Such mandates could benefit its investment-banking, advisory and financing businesses as demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure expands. Morgan Stanley, others in talks to finance data center and power project in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-backed MEMX is set to combine with options exchange BOX in a transaction that gives control of the merged entity to TMX Group. The deal could strengthen Morgan Stanley’s strategic exposure to market infrastructure, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Jane Street-Backed Exchange Sells Control to Canada’s TMX Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s $1.15-per-share cash dividend went ex-dividend on July 31 and is scheduled for payment on August 14. The ex-dividend adjustment can create short-term volatility, but it does not change the company’s underlying earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley’s Dividend Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity, with 40,133 calls traded versus typical daily volume of about 18,021, indicated increased speculative interest in MS shares, though options activity alone does not establish a fundamental catalyst.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. CICC Research lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.