Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $11.39 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 8.1% in the second quarter, leaving it with 54,503 shares valued at $11.39 million. Other institutional investors largely increased their positions, and institutions collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported quarterly earnings of $3.46 per share, beating estimates of $2.89, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $224.75.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, a 15% increase, and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,790 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

MS stock opened at $214.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $216.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.08. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $141.03 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $338.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley launched a $1.5 trillion innovation and infrastructure initiative designed to support investment in technology, advanced manufacturing, energy and other strategic sectors. The effort could strengthen the firm’s long-term investment-banking, asset-management and advisory opportunities. Morgan Stanley starts $1.5T innovation infrastructure initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise to Overweight and set a $69 price target, citing improving enterprise-infrastructure growth, earnings potential and cash generation. The call highlights the bank’s ability to generate advisory and trading activity around technology and infrastructure themes. Hewlett Packard Stock Rises After Morgan Stanley Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues expanding its fixed-income activity through new and recently completed medium-term note offerings carrying coupons of roughly 4.5% to 5.2% and maturities from 2029 through 2036. The issuance supports funding and liquidity but may keep investors focused on borrowing costs and whether the stock’s valuation already reflects strong earnings. Morgan Stanley expands fixed income activity
• Neutral Sentiment: KBRA assigned preliminary ratings to ten classes of certificates in a $418.1 million Morgan Stanley-sponsored residential mortgage-backed securities transaction. The deal demonstrates continued securitization activity, although its meaningful non-prime mortgage exposure could draw additional attention to credit quality and market-risk management. KBRA assigns preliminary ratings to Morgan Stanley mortgage trust
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-backed renewable developer PNE said potential buyers appear unwilling to meet its market valuation, casting doubt on whether a sale will occur. While the issue is not central to Morgan Stanley’s earnings, it could modestly weigh on sentiment toward the firm’s involvement in the transaction. Morgan Stanley-backed PNE sale prospects unclear

About Morgan Stanley

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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