Nexus Investment Management ULC Sells 2,751 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Nexus Investment Management ULC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 3.2% of Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings forecast: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a Buy rating. The estimate is above the broader consensus of $12.79, supporting the view that continued investment-banking, trading and wealth-management strength could drive earnings growth. Erste Group raises Morgan Stanley earnings estimate
• Positive Sentiment: $1.5 trillion innovation initiative: Morgan Stanley launched a U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative targeting approximately $1.5 trillion in capital for infrastructure, technology and national-security-related investment. The program could expand the firm’s role in capital raising, advisory services and asset management, although the financial benefit is expected to develop over time. Morgan Stanley innovation infrastructure initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Real-estate investment deployment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot Ace Hardware distribution facility in Kansas City for $158.5 million through its real-estate funds. The transaction demonstrates continued deployment of client capital and adds to Morgan Stanley’s alternative-investment platform, though it is not expected to materially affect near-term results. Morgan Stanley acquires Kansas City distribution facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Favorable market backdrop: Commentary comparing Morgan Stanley with Bank of America highlighted stronger capital-markets activity, trading volumes and improving investment-banking conditions in the first half of 2026. However, the comparison also noted Morgan Stanley’s relatively higher valuation and greater market exposure, which may limit upside if deal activity or trading conditions weaken. Bank of America versus Morgan Stanley investment comparison

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $217.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $216.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $141.03 and a 52 week high of $232.25. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. 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 payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

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.