Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $16.66 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley to $16.66 million after acquiring an additional 9,984 shares, reflecting a 9.2% growth in the second quarter.
• Several major investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, with institutional investors owning approximately 84.19% of the company's stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.80, surpassing expectations, and announced a dividend of $1.00 per share set to be paid on November 14th.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,984 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $343,236,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.54.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $158.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $166.77. The business's 50 day moving average is $153.29 and its 200 day moving average is $136.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.