Ethic Inc. Acquires 15,414 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.1%, acquiring an additional 15,414 shares, bringing its total holdings to 184,382 shares valued at approximately $25.9 million.
• Several large institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have also raised their positions in Morgan Stanley, reflecting growing investor interest.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.80, significantly exceeding analyst estimates and marked by a year-over-year revenue increase of 18.5%.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,414 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 0.5% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $159.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $153.89 and its 200 day moving average is $137.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally 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.

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