Invesco Ltd. Has $1.44 Billion Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,083,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 249,023 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,443,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.9% in the third quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Evercore lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $6,020,286.48. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $154.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $176.65 and its 200-day moving average is $168.08. The stock has a market cap of $244.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent quarterly results showed an EPS and revenue beat and continued scale in wealth and investment-management businesses, supporting underlying profitability (a fundamental anchor amid the selloff).
• Positive Sentiment: The firm is seeing strong deal flow in Asia and has hired contract staff in Hong Kong to handle a surge in listings — evidence of fee-generating activity that may help near-term revenue. Morgan Stanley hires contract staff in Hong Kong (Reuters)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley adjusted some institutional stakes (e.g., trimming its Siemens Energy voting stake) — a portfolio move that is not clearly positive or negative for near-term earnings but worth monitoring for strategic positioning. MS trims Siemens Energy stake (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Primary near-term driver: Morgan Stanley capped redemptions at a private-credit fund after large withdrawal requests, stoking fears about private-credit liquidity and contagion across alternative-credit managers — a direct hit to investor confidence in MS’s asset-management/private-credit franchise. MS restricts redemptions at private-credit fund (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Broader sector and macro pressure: financial stocks have pulled back on repricing of rate and Fed expectations; Morgan Stanley is trading like other large banks despite no new earnings miss, reflecting macro-driven de-risking. MS slides as financials weaken (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals & positioning: volume is elevated vs. average (heavier trading), the stock is below its 50?day moving average and showing sensitivity to sector outflows — this amplifies downside in a risk-off session.

About Morgan Stanley

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.