Strategic Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Strategic Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 78.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,057 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds support the outlook: Zacks identified Morgan Stanley among investment banks positioned to benefit from increased technology spending, active trading, and stronger underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a fundamental support: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. However, these results were released earlier and do not represent a fresh trading catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains visible: Morgan Stanley was listed among institutional buyers in recent Indian transactions involving Purple Style Labs and Lenskart. These deals may generate advisory or underwriting revenue, but the announcements do not appear material enough to directly affect MS shares. Purple Style Raises Funds Ahead of IPO

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:MS opened at $214.69 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $145.65 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The stock has a market cap of $338.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business 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 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Dbs Bank boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

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.