Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Acquired by Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Provenance Wealth Advisors increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 454.3% in the third quarter, adding 8,400 shares to hold 10,249 shares valued at $1.93 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported quarterly EPS of $3.03, beating the $2.93 consensus, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $20.34 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% yield; analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $214.81.

Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 454.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,040,227,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $295,482,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $110,938,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 89.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,410,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $232,092,000 after purchasing an additional 666,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $236 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the reference price in the report. UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching a $2.3 billion Baldwin debt offering. The deal may provide underwriting activity and related fee revenue, although the article listing offers limited detail. Morgan Stanley launches Baldwin debt offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market outlook is divided: one strategist sees the election as a potential “clearing event” that could help the selloff end, while other reports flag risks from election uncertainty and fragile technology-stock buying. The outlook matters to MS because market moves can affect trading and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley flags a stock-market turning point
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across market sectors; the announcement provides no specific indication of a direct financial impact on MS. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists have warned that the S&P 500 could face further losses, with one report citing a possible 9% decline and another describing three potential “clearing events.” Persistent volatility could curb investor activity and pressure market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley warns the S&P 500 could drop

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $185.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $293.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $196.97 and a 200-day moving average of $194.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $152.80 and a 52-week high of $232.25. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.81.

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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