Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Trimmed by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 6.8% in the first quarter, leaving it with 107,342 shares valued at about $17.7 million. Institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 84.19% overall.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly earnings, beating analyst estimates on both EPS and revenue. Revenue rose 27.1% year over year, and the company posted EPS of $3.46 versus the $2.89 consensus.
• The firm raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00 and authorized a new $20 billion share buyback. Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,854 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.50.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent earnings results were strong, with the firm beating estimates on both EPS and revenue and posting robust year-over-year growth, which supports the stock’s longer-term fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to receive constructive Wall Street commentary, including a “Moderate Buy” consensus and recent bullish analyst coverage tied to its earnings power and capital markets franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit attracting new assets tied to SpaceX IPO interest, which reinforces the strength of its wealth and investment management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated market stories involving Morgan Stanley analyst calls on other stocks, plus broader AI/capex and earnings-driven volatility across large-cap tech and financials, may be influencing sentiment around MS indirectly.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.5%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.11 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $136.17 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $337.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.97.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.34%.

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

Morgan Stanley 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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