55 North Private Wealth LLC Buys 3,566 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

55 North Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $8,854,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,726 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after purchasing an additional 28,877 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,452,000 after purchasing an additional 30,010 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,422,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,635,000 after purchasing an additional 287,056 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.80 on Tuesday, reaching $180.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,058,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,162,763. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.90. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $284.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oversold positioning may be attracting buyers. Morgan Stanley was identified alongside Bank of America and Goldman Sachs as one of the more oversold large financial stocks, creating potential for a rebound as investors position for the fourth quarter. Top 3 Financial Stocks Which Could Rescue Your Portfolio In Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and fundamentals remain supportive. Morgan Stanley trades at roughly 14 times earnings, and its latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.03 per share and revenue of $20.34 billion, up 11.6% year over year. Those results reinforce the longer-term investment case despite recent share-price weakness. Morgan Stanley: 3 key takeaways for long-term investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is divided. Recent coverage presents a mixed outlook on Morgan Stanley and other financial stocks, suggesting investors are weighing attractive valuation and earnings momentum against concerns about the broader economic and market backdrop. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on These Financial Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: BMO trimmed its price target. BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley target from $215 to $210 while retaining an “Outperform” rating. The revised target still implies upside, but the reduction signals more cautious near-term expectations and may restrain enthusiasm. Morgan Stanley Price Target Update

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.62.

About Morgan Stanley

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.