Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Concurrent Investment Advisors increased its Morgan Stanley holdings by 24.4% in the second quarter, bringing its position to 78,004 shares valued at approximately $16.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 beating estimates of $2.89 and revenue rising 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $224.75.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion stock buyback, permitting repurchases of up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 24.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,315 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,854,000. Arsenal Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $814,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 201.0% during the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 11,726 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 71,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,724,000 after acquiring an additional 11,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 764,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,736,000 after acquiring an additional 20,783 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE MS opened at $217.73 on Friday. 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 one year low of $146.29 and a one year high of $232.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often 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: Potentially major Anthropic IPO role: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are reportedly close to receiving leading roles in Anthropic’s anticipated IPO, which could involve a valuation near $2 trillion. The deal would strengthen Morgan Stanley’s technology and equity-underwriting franchise and provide a potentially meaningful source of fees and future business. Anthropic is also reportedly arranging a $15 billion revolving credit facility, with Morgan Stanley leading the process. Anthropic close to awarding Morgan Stanley and Goldman top roles in $2tn IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent earnings backdrop: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results significantly exceeded expectations, with revenue up 27.1% year over year and earnings per share of $3.46 versus a $2.89 consensus estimate. The performance supports investor confidence in the firm’s trading, investment-banking and wealth-management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing conference and client activity: Morgan Stanley is hosting its 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, while companies including Tempus, Attovia Therapeutics, Eaton and Southwest Airlines are scheduled to present. These events reinforce the firm’s role in institutional research and client engagement but are unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Tempus to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Copyright dispute with X: Morgan Stanley has filed complaints against at least 16 X posts that allegedly shared copyrighted research and temporarily locked a prominent strategist’s account. The action may protect valuable intellectual property, but it also creates reputational and legal uncertainty and could disrupt the firm’s visibility on a major platform used by investors. Morgan Stanley Hands Elon Musk a New X Headache

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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