Lawood & Co. Buys 7,641 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Lawood & Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,437,000. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 0.9% of Lawood & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after buying an additional 539,544 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,846,000 after purchasing an additional 422,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:MS traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,634,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,143,436. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.95 and a 200-day moving average of $202.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was notably bullish, with traders purchasing 26,930 MS call options, approximately 63% above average call volume. This suggests increased near-term speculative interest in the stock. Morgan Stanley options activity
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer backed Morgan Stanley following its pullback, pointing to the company’s buyback authorization and describing the decline as an opportunity. The commentary may be supporting sentiment among retail investors. Jim Cramer backs Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposal to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, totaling nearly $10 billion, into ETFs could improve product competitiveness, provide potential tax and trading advantages for shareholders, and strengthen the firm’s asset-management platform. Shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley municipal funds ETF conversions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are focused on projections for Morgan Stanley’s September-quarter revenue, earnings, and key operating metrics. The report could clarify whether strong investment-banking and wealth-management trends continued, but the article does not provide a definitive earnings preview or estimate revision. Morgan Stanley Q3 earnings metric projections
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, while TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target. Although TD Cowen’s target implies upside, the Hold ratings signal limited conviction and may restrain gains. Morgan Stanley analyst rating changes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.