Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Covenant Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 140.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.4% of Covenant Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations provide support. Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, reinforcing the view that strong investment-banking, wealth-management and trading activity could continue to improve profitability. Erste Group Bank Lifts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-asset strategy is expanding. Morgan Stanley is broadening its cryptocurrency platform with Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, staking capabilities and additional digital-asset services. The initiative could create new fee revenue and strengthen the firm’s competitive position in wealth management, although financial benefits may take time to develop. How Is Morgan Stanley Strengthening Its Position in Digital Assets?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage highlights growth opportunities. Morgan Stanley research remains constructive on areas including Sea’s spending and SpaceX’s valuation potential. These reports may raise the firm’s visibility and research-related activity but have limited direct impact on Morgan Stanley’s earnings. Morgan Stanley Sees Sea’s Spending Building Earnings Power
• Negative Sentiment: Direct lending remains a concern. A recent analysis argues that Morgan Stanley’s direct-lending results show additional problems, potentially raising questions about credit quality, private-credit returns and the firm’s alternative-investments platform. This could temper enthusiasm around the broader earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending: New Results Just Showed More Problems

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $218.59 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $141.03 and a 52-week high of $232.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $216.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.83. The firm has a market cap of $344.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.