Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Newly Acquired by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,982,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 297.4% in the 2nd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $187.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.33. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $295.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. HSBC boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vinyl Equity adds tools for cap-table management, equity administration and share transfers across private and public markets. The acquisition also includes digital-asset infrastructure, supporting Morgan Stanley’s effort to connect company equity services with its wealth-management business. Financial terms were not disclosed. Morgan Stanley to Acquire Digital-Native Transfer Agent Vinyl Equity
• Positive Sentiment: The strategic rationale is the opportunity to serve companies and employees through the IPO process and beyond. Coverage cited IPO-related flows as a meaningful contributor to Morgan Stanley’s recent wealth-asset inflows, though the potential benefits depend on IPO activity and successful integration of Vinyl. Morgan Stanley buys Vinyl Equity to capture more IPO wealth
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report says Morgan Stanley is trimming exposure to data-center construction loans as AI financing shifts toward private-credit funds and asset managers. This changes the bank’s exposure to the sector, but the article does not quantify the financial impact. Morgan Stanley Trims Data Center Loan Exposure As AI Financing Shifts

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals.

Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.

Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley serves clients in the United States and across international markets, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.