B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,478 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.
More Morgan Stanley News
Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Rotation into big banks: Investors are favoring major financial institutions as higher-rate expectations support potential gains in net interest income and reinforce confidence in diversified banks such as Morgan Stanley. Expectations of Rising Rates and Worries About AI Have Investors Piling Into Big Bank Stocks
- Positive Sentiment: Strong operating backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed earnings of $3.46 per share and revenue of $21.35 billion, exceeding consensus estimates. Revenue increased 27.1% year over year, while return on equity reached 19.31%, supporting the stock’s fundamental appeal.
- Positive Sentiment: Potential cost efficiencies from AI: Morgan Stanley and other major banks are pressing law firms to reduce fees as AI makes routine legal work faster. Lower outside-counsel costs could modestly improve expense efficiency, although the direct financial impact is not yet quantified. Wall Street banks push Big Law to cut fees because of AI
- Neutral Sentiment: Client activity remains a watchpoint: E*TRADE’s monthly sector-rotation study provides insight into Morgan Stanley’s brokerage-client trading behavior, but the release did not identify a specific earnings or revenue catalyst for MS. E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
- Negative Sentiment: Rates create volatility: The recent bond selloff pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to approximately 4.79%, raising concerns about market valuations and potentially increasing pressure on investment-banking and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley Stock Is Up Nearly 20% in 2026: What Will It Take to Break Through $250?
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have commented on MS shares. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Freedom Capital raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Dbs Bank boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.75.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MS
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
Shares of MS stock opened at $211.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $146.29 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $334.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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