MW Advisory LLC Purchases Shares of 10,637 Morgan Stanley $MS

MW Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.9% of MW Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $813,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,076,000. Blalock Williams LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $260,000. Finally, BAM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. BAM Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $217.73 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $146.29 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $343.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 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 business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 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.