Morgan Stanley $MS is Northeast Planning Associates INC. NH’s 6th Largest Position

Northeast Planning Associates INC. NH reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 49.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 83,097 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.9% of Northeast Planning Associates INC. NH’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Northeast Planning Associates INC. NH’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $217.73 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $146.29 and a one year high of $232.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $215.70 and its 200 day moving average is $196.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $343.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during 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%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.8 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. CICC Research increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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: Potentially major Anthropic IPO role: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly close to receiving leading roles in Anthropic’s anticipated IPO, which could involve a valuation near $2 trillion. The deal would strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology and equity-underwriting franchise and provide a potentially meaningful source of fees and future business. Anthropic is also reportedly arranging a $15 billion revolving credit facility, with Morgan Stanley leading the process. Anthropic close to awarding Morgan Stanley and Goldman top roles in $2tn IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent earnings backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue up 27.1% year over year and earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 consensus estimate. The performance supports investor confidence in the firm’s trading, investment-banking and wealth-management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing conference and client activity: Morgan Stanley is hosting its 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, while companies including Tempus, Attovia Therapeutics, Eaton and Southwest Airlines are scheduled to present. These events reinforce the firm’s role in institutional research and client engagement but are unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Tempus to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright dispute with X: Morgan Stanley has filed complaints against at least 16 X posts that allegedly shared copyrighted research and temporarily locked a prominent strategist’s account. The action may protect valuable intellectual property, but it also creates reputational and legal uncertainty and could disrupt the firm’s visibility on a major platform used by investors. Morgan Stanley Hands Elon Musk a New X Headache

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.