Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Covenant Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Covenant Asset Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 140.2% in the second quarter, adding 23,111 shares to own 39,592 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.46 per share and revenue of $21.35 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 27.1% year over year.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $224.75.

Covenant Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 140.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,111 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.4% of Covenant Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Covenant Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second 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 period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $218.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $344.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $216.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.83. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $141.03 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm 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 business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 37.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.75.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations provide support. Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, reinforcing the view that strong investment-banking, wealth-management and trading activity could continue to improve profitability. Erste Group Bank Lifts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-asset strategy is expanding. Morgan Stanley is broadening its cryptocurrency platform with Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, staking capabilities and additional digital-asset services. The initiative could create new fee revenue and strengthen the firm’s competitive position in wealth management, although financial benefits may take time to develop. How Is Morgan Stanley Strengthening Its Position in Digital Assets?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage highlights growth opportunities. Morgan Stanley research remains constructive on areas including Sea’s spending and SpaceX’s valuation potential. These reports may raise the firm’s visibility and research-related activity but have limited direct impact on Morgan Stanley’s earnings. Morgan Stanley Sees Sea's Spending Building Earnings Power
• Negative Sentiment: Direct lending remains a concern. A recent analysis argues that Morgan Stanley’s direct-lending results show additional problems, potentially raising questions about credit quality, private-credit returns and the firm’s alternative-investments platform. This could temper enthusiasm around the broader earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending: New Results Just Showed More Problems

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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