Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Axecap Investments LLC

Key Points

• Axecap Investments LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 67.8% in the third quarter, selling 14,157 shares and retaining 6,709 shares valued at approximately $1.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.03 in EPS and $20.34 billion in revenue, with revenue up 11.6% year over year. The company also authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive but mixed: Morgan Stanley has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $214.62 average price target, while some firms recently lowered their targets or ratings.

Axecap Investments LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,157 shares during the quarter. Axecap Investments LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank OZK boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of MS stock opened at $180.24 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $284.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.00. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buy back $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley chief U.S. equity strategist Mike Wilson said the market correction is likely in its “final innings” and projected the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027. The comments support risk appetite and may benefit Morgan Stanley through stronger equity-market activity, investment banking and wealth-management sentiment. Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson market outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was identified as one of the more oversold financial stocks that could offer recovery potential in the fourth quarter. That framing may be encouraging bargain-oriented investors, particularly after the company’s earlier earnings beat and revenue growth. Financial stocks with recovery potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage describes analyst opinions on Morgan Stanley as mixed, suggesting investors are balancing attractive valuation and growth prospects with concerns about market sensitivity and financial-sector conditions. Analyst opinions on Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target from $215 to $210, although it maintained an “Outperform” rating. The reduction limits some of the near-term upside implied by prior expectations, but the continued positive rating remains supportive. BMO lowers Morgan Stanley price target
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis argued that Morgan Stanley’s Series A preferred shares offer an insufficient yield for a compelling allocation. This is more directly relevant to the preferred security than to common shares, but it could weigh modestly on sentiment toward the company’s capital-markets securities. Morgan Stanley Series A preferred shares analysis

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley 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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