9,970 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS Acquired by B.A. Schrock Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• B.A. Schrock Wealth Management acquired 9,970 Morgan Stanley shares worth approximately $1.87 million during the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley’s third-quarter results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.03 and revenue of $20.34 billion, driven by strong equity trading and record wealth-management activity.
• The stock opened at $181.65, below its 50- and 200-day moving averages. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $219.43, while Morgan Stanley maintains a $1.15 quarterly dividend and a $20 billion share-repurchase authorization.

B.A. Schrock Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,874,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter results exceeded expectations. Morgan Stanley reported $3.03 in earnings per share versus the $2.93 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $20.34 billion, above expectations of $19.93 billion. Net income attributable to the company increased 6% to approximately $4.9 billion. Morgan Stanley profit rises on equity trading strength
• Positive Sentiment: Equity trading and wealth management were key growth engines. Institutional Securities revenue reached approximately $10.0 billion, helped by a 41% increase in equity revenue. Wealth Management produced record revenue of $9.1 billion, added $232.4 billion in net new assets and reached $10.5 trillion in client assets. IPO-related inflows contributed significantly to the asset gathering. Morgan Stanley Cashes In on IPO Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns and capital remain supportive. Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 and repurchased $1.54 billion of common stock. Its standardized CET1 capital ratio was 14.9%, providing capacity for continued capital returns. Morgan Stanley Reports Third-Quarter Revenue and EPS
• Neutral Sentiment: Management emphasized that artificial intelligence will enhance employees and client service rather than replace Morgan Stanley’s relationship-based advisory model. The firm is also exploring tokenized equities through its alternative trading system, potentially creating a longer-term technology opportunity.
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat may have been viewed as trading-driven and difficult to sustain. Fixed-income markets were weaker, while recent enthusiasm around mergers, acquisitions and IPO activity had cooled. Investors may be waiting for clearer evidence that elevated equity-trading revenue and IPO-related wealth inflows can persist.
• Negative Sentiment: A hotter-than-expected consumer inflation reading pushed Treasury yields higher and weighed on financial stocks. With Morgan Stanley trading at roughly 14.7 times earnings after a multiyear rally, the market appears to have demanded stronger forward guidance than the quarter’s headline results provided.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $181.65 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $152.80 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $286.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically an indication 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 37.19%.

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.

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