Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.7%, adding 5,800 shares to hold 350,982 shares valued at approximately $66 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $3.46 and revenue of $21.35 billion, both exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year. However, analysts remain mixed, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $219.43 price target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program, equivalent to up to 5.6% of outstanding shares. The stock recently traded at $187.52, down 1.2%.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $66,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,611,846,000 after buying an additional 422,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposed conversion of eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, holding nearly $10 billion, into ETFs could support fee-based asset growth, improve product appeal and strengthen the firm’s wealth- and investment-management platform. Shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley ETF conversion article
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer expressed support for Morgan Stanley following its pullback, citing the company’s buyback authorization as a reason investors may view the shares favorably. Jim Cramer supports Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually active call-option buying indicates that some traders are positioning for a rebound, although options activity is not a direct indicator of fundamental value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a generally constructive view: the stock carries an average price target near $219.90, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels, but the consensus is mixed with buy, hold and sell ratings. Morgan Stanley analyst price target article
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, while TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target. These actions may have reinforced profit-taking and reduced the impact of more bullish views.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also preparing for the next earnings report. Although Morgan Stanley recently delivered a substantial EPS and revenue beat, Zacks said the company lacks the combination of factors that typically supports another likely earnings surprise, increasing caution ahead of results. Morgan Stanley earnings expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness, including declines in major technology and industrial stocks, likely added pressure to financial shares. Morgan Stanley’s beta of 1.22 also makes it more sensitive than the broader market to risk-off trading.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $223.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MS opened at $187.52 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $151.84 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company has a market capitalization of $295.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm 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%.The company's revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.

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