Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,239 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $211.31 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $139.41 and a 12-month high of $232.25. The company has a market cap of $333.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wealth-management growth opportunity from IPOs: Morgan Stanley is reportedly positioning its wealth-management business to capture substantial client assets from an expected wave of initial public offerings. Successful IPO execution could generate underwriting fees while adding new assets and relationships to its wealth platform. Morgan Stanley IPO after-party: a wealth management bonanza
• Positive Sentiment: Crypto expansion may support fee growth: Morgan Stanley has launched new Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds, broadening its digital-asset offering. The products could attract trading activity, advisory relationships and fee-generating assets, while strengthening the firm’s wealth-management “flywheel.” Morgan Stanley Just Launched New Ethereum and Solana ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive technology outlook: Morgan Stanley research expects cloud spending to reach roughly $1.4 trillion in 2027 and says open-weight AI could expand overall compute and power demand, even if it pressures application-programming-interface pricing. This supports potential advisory, financing and trading opportunities across AI, cloud and infrastructure markets. Morgan Stanley Sees Cloud Spending Hitting $1.4 Trillion in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Strong market backdrop for trading and investment banking: A sharp Nasdaq rebound and Morgan Stanley’s view that technology-sector rotation may continue could improve equity-trading volumes, equity issuance and investor risk appetite. Nasdaq Nears 2% Gains. The Tech Trade Is So Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Client activity data released: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley published its monthly sector-rotation study, offering insight into whether clients were net buyers or sellers across major sectors. The release highlights platform engagement but did not disclose an immediate earnings impact. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-market risk remains a consideration: Loan investors are reportedly demanding higher borrowing costs, which could pressure leveraged borrowers and reduce financing activity. This is a potential headwind for Morgan Stanley’s lending and capital-markets businesses, although the article does not identify a company-specific problem. Loan Investors Are Pushing Back as Fear Rises

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.