Independent Financial Group LLC Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Independent Financial Group LLC initiated a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter, buying 8,232 shares valued at about $1.355 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly earnings, with EPS of $3.46 versus estimates of $2.89 and revenue of $21.35 billion, both beating expectations and reflecting 27.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company also expanded shareholder returns by authorizing a $20 billion share repurchase plan and raising its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00.

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is being recognized as a leader in financing AI-related debt deals, suggesting stronger underwriting and advisory revenue tied to data-center expansion. Morgan Stanley becomes Wall Street’s top bank for AI debt deals
• Positive Sentiment: New coverage from market outlets also pointed to Morgan Stanley as constructive on broader macro and sector opportunities, including semiconductor and commodity trends, which can help sentiment around its research and client franchise. MarketWatch chip stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst notes and rating updates continued to support expectations for solid earnings, with recent reports raising price targets and forecast estimates for fiscal 2026 and beyond. Morgan Stanley upgraded at Freedom Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive business headlines, the stock was under pressure in a broader risk-off session, which can weigh on large financials even when company-specific news is favorable.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $210.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.00. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The stock has a market cap of $332.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. CICC Research boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.60.

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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