Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Has $2.48 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,983 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,040,227,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MS stock opened at $217.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $146.29 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Potentially major Anthropic IPO role: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly close to receiving leading roles in Anthropic’s anticipated IPO, which could involve a valuation near $2 trillion. The deal would strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology and equity-underwriting franchise and provide a potentially meaningful source of fees and future business. Anthropic is also reportedly arranging a $15 billion revolving credit facility, with Morgan Stanley leading the process. Anthropic close to awarding Morgan Stanley and Goldman top roles in $2tn IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent earnings backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue up 27.1% year over year and earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 consensus estimate. The performance supports investor confidence in the firm’s trading, investment-banking and wealth-management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing conference and client activity: Morgan Stanley is hosting its 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, while companies including Tempus, Attovia Therapeutics, Eaton and Southwest Airlines are scheduled to present. These events reinforce the firm’s role in institutional research and client engagement but are unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Tempus to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright dispute with X: Morgan Stanley has filed complaints against at least 16 X posts that allegedly shared copyrighted research and temporarily locked a prominent strategist’s account. The action may protect valuable intellectual property, but it also creates reputational and legal uncertainty and could disrupt the firm’s visibility on a major platform used by investors. Morgan Stanley Hands Elon Musk a New X Headache

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.