Annex Advisory Services LLC Has $70.18 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.6% in the second quarter, selling 9,091 shares and retaining 335,740 shares valued at approximately $70.18 million. Morgan Stanley represents 1.2% of Annex’s portfolio, while institutional investors own 84.19% of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported quarterly EPS of $3.46, beating estimates of $2.89, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.15 and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program.
• The stock opened at $215.03, near its 52-week high, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $224.75. Potential catalysts include stronger investment-banking activity and growth initiatives, though its elevated valuation could increase sensitivity to a slowdown.

Annex Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,091 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.2% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $70,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $215.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $339.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $141.03 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 37.19%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiative: Morgan Stanley launched the U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative, targeting approximately $1.5 trillion in capital to support U.S. infrastructure, innovation and national-security priorities. The program could expand the firm’s role in long-term capital raising, investment banking and asset management. How Could Morgan Stanley Shape U.S. Growth With Its $1.5 Trillion Initiative?
• Positive Sentiment: Real-estate investment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s real-estate funds acquired a 1.5-million-square-foot Kansas City logistics facility for $158.5 million. The transaction adds to the firm’s alternative-investment platform and supports fee-generating asset growth. Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing Acquires Kansas City Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS forecast for Morgan Stanley to $13.70 from $13.65 and maintained a Buy rating. The estimate is above the broader consensus of $12.79, reinforcing optimism around capital-markets and wealth-management earnings. Erste Group Raises Morgan Stanley EPS Estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking outlook: Commentary from Jim Cramer and comparisons with Bank of America point to stronger M&A activity, trading volumes and investment-banking conditions as potential catalysts for Morgan Stanley. However, these are broad industry views rather than new company-specific guidance. Jim Cramer Recommends Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning: Morgan Stanley is trading near its 12-month high and above its 200-day moving average, which may encourage investors to lock in gains. The stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to any slowdown in deal activity, markets or wealth-management growth.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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