Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 10.6% in the second quarter, selling 34,527 shares and retaining 290,294 shares valued at approximately $60.7 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $3.46 and revenue of $21.35 billion, up 27.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $224.75.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, or $4.60 annually, representing a 2.1% yield.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,527 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $60,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds support the outlook: Zacks identified Morgan Stanley among investment banks positioned to benefit from increased technology spending, active trading, and stronger underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a fundamental support: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. However, these results were released earlier and do not represent a fresh trading catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains visible: Morgan Stanley was listed among institutional buyers in recent Indian transactions involving Purple Style Labs and Lenskart. These deals may generate advisory or underwriting revenue, but the announcements do not appear material enough to directly affect MS shares. Purple Style Raises Funds Ahead of IPO

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

MS opened at $214.69 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $216.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.32. 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 one year low of $145.65 and a one year high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

About Morgan Stanley

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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