Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $223,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $258,000. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $215.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $339.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $141.03 and a one year high of $232.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $216.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiative: Morgan Stanley launched the U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative, targeting approximately $1.5 trillion in capital to support U.S. infrastructure, innovation and national-security priorities. The program could expand the firm’s role in long-term capital raising, investment banking and asset management. How Could Morgan Stanley Shape U.S. Growth With Its $1.5 Trillion Initiative?
• Positive Sentiment: Real-estate investment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s real-estate funds acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot Kansas City logistics facility for $158.5 million. The transaction adds to the firm’s alternative-investment platform and supports fee-generating asset growth. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing Acquires Kansas City Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS forecast for Morgan Stanley to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a Buy rating. The estimate is above the broader consensus of $12.79, reinforcing optimism around capital-markets and wealth-management earnings. Erste Group Raises Morgan Stanley EPS Estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking outlook: Commentary from Jim Cramer and comparisons with Bank of America point to stronger M&A activity, trading volumes and investment-banking conditions as potential catalysts for Morgan Stanley. However, these are broad industry views rather than new company-specific guidance. Jim Cramer Recommends Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning: Morgan Stanley is trading near its 12-month high and above its 200-day moving average, which may encourage investors to lock in gains. The stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to any slowdown in deal activity, markets or wealth-management growth.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley 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.