3,566 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by 55 North Private Wealth LLC

55 North Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after purchasing an additional 28,877 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after purchasing an additional 30,010 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,635,000 after buying an additional 287,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.62.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oversold positioning may be attracting buyers. Morgan Stanley was identified alongside Bank of America and Goldman Sachs as one of the more oversold large financial stocks, creating potential for a rebound as investors position for the fourth quarter. Top 3 Financial Stocks Which Could Rescue Your Portfolio In Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals remain supportive. Morgan Stanley trades at roughly 14 times earnings, and its latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.03 per share and revenue of $20.34 billion, up 11.6% year over year. Those results reinforce the longer-term investment case despite recent share-price weakness. Morgan Stanley: 3 key takeaways for long-term investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is divided. Recent coverage presents a mixed outlook on Morgan Stanley and other financial stocks, suggesting investors are weighing attractive valuation and earnings momentum against concerns about the broader economic and market backdrop. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on These Financial Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: BMO trimmed its price target. BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley target from $215 to $210 while retaining an “Outperform” rating. The revised target still implies upside, but the reduction signals more cautious near-term expectations and may restrain enthusiasm. Morgan Stanley Price Target Update

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $1.80 on Tuesday, hitting $180.27. 2,058,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,162,763. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $203.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.90. The company has a market capitalization of $284.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $152.80 and a 52-week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.