Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Boosted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 167.6% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 145,876 shares valued at approximately $27.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.03 and revenue of $20.34 billion, with revenue rising 11.6% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $214.86.
• The company announced a $1.15 quarterly dividend—a 2.5% annualized yield—and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 167.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 91,373 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 6,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.2% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $245,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 14,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.86.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $180.73 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.80. The company has a market capitalization of $285.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22.

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 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 company had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

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

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

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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