6,662 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 21.6%, purchasing 6,662 additional shares to hold 37,447 shares valued at approximately $7.04 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.19% of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 and revenue of $21.35 billion, beating estimates and representing 27.1% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautiously positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $219.43, although TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and Erste Group downgraded the stock ahead of concerns about costs and muted investment-banking activity.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,662 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bayban raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 72.5% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Options traders purchased approximately 26,930 MS call contracts, well above average call volume, suggesting increased short-term bullish positioning. Morgan Stanley unusual options activity
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer recently backed Morgan Stanley after its pullback, highlighting the company’s buyback authorization and long-term prospects. That commentary may be supporting investor confidence, although it is not a fundamental earnings catalyst. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposal to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, representing nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs could support its asset-management strategy and improve product efficiency if shareholders approve the transactions. Morgan Stanley Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target, implying potential upside from the reported trading level but signaling that the firm sees balanced risk and reward. TD Cowen Initiates Morgan Stanley Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings analysis points to a challenging Q3 outlook: higher costs and muted investment-banking deal activity could pressure results, even if trading revenue remains relatively strong. Morgan Stanley Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, adding to a more cautious analyst tone ahead of earnings. Erste Group Morgan Stanley Downgrade

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $189.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $299.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.76. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $151.84 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.43.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.