Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Newly Purchased by OceanIQ Capital LLC

Key Points

• OceanIQ Capital LLC acquired 6,209 Morgan Stanley shares worth approximately $1.16 million during the third quarter, making MS about 0.6% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.03 beating estimates, revenue rising 11.6% year over year to $20.34 billion, and a 19.4% return on equity. The company also authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program and declared a $1.15 quarterly dividend.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $214.86, but several firms recently cut ratings or targets. Shares traded at $179.76, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating weak recent momentum.

OceanIQ Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000. Morgan Stanley makes up about 0.6% of OceanIQ Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Bayban boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 72.5% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said investors should prepare to add risk as a months-long equity-market pullback may be nearing an end. A broader market rebound could benefit Morgan Stanley’s investment-banking, trading and asset-management businesses. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says Get Ready to Buy as Stock Drop Ends
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s strong quarterly performance, including earnings of $3.03 per share versus a $2.93 consensus estimate, 11.6% year-over-year revenue growth and a 19.4% return on equity. The company has also raised its dividend and repurchased shares, supporting shareholder returns. Morgan Stanley Earnings and Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reportedly increased its price target for MS, adding to evidence that some analysts see upside after the recent retreat. Morgan Stanley Stock Gets Price Target Increase from JPMorgan
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is receiving elevated investor attention, but the latest Zacks article does not identify a new company-specific catalyst. The stock’s valuation, earnings outlook and exposure to market activity remain the key issues for investors. Is Morgan Stanley Worth Betting on Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains mixed, and the stock’s position below its longer-term moving averages indicates that technical momentum is still weak. Continued market volatility or a delay in investment-banking activity could limit near-term upside. Analysts Conflicted on Morgan Stanley

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.86.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded down $0.81 on Monday, reaching $179.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,611,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,168,381. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.80. The company has a market cap of $283.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. 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 52-week low of $152.80 and a 52-week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.

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