KRS Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.96 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

KRS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 0.9% of KRS Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.73 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.48. The stock has a market cap of $285.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.86.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.