Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,449 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $228.52 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $135.26 and a one year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.27. The company has a market cap of $360.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. CICC Research raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.20.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading and investment banking both came in strong, helping drive the earnings beat and record profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth management and investment management also posted solid growth, reinforcing the quality of the quarter and the durability of the franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, which signals management confidence in future cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Client assets topped $10 trillion, a sign that Morgan Stanley’s wealth platform continues to scale.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market sentiment is also helping financial stocks, with cooler inflation data supporting hopes for a friendlier rate backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts have reiterated constructive views on MS and peers after strong banking-sector earnings.

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.