Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Sells 34,983 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Munich Reinsurance sharply reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 74.7% in the second quarter, selling 34,983 shares and retaining 11,860 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.46 per share 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 increased its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion share-buyback program, allowing repurchases of up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 74.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,983 shares during the quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,724,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan increased their holdings of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs during the second quarter and added exposure to Solana and XRP products. The activity reinforces Morgan Stanley’s expansion into digital-asset products, which could support future fee and client-asset growth. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan load up on crypto ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is among five banks advising Carlyle-backed Quest Global on a potential India IPO of up to $1 billion. The mandate could generate advisory and underwriting fees while highlighting the firm’s international capital-markets franchise. Quest Global selects banks for India IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, providing a supportive analyst signal following the company’s strong recent quarterly results. Erste Group lifts Morgan Stanley earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley adopted a more constructive view of U.S. IT hardware, citing “chipflation” and faster enterprise spending. The research may benefit the firm’s advisory and trading activity, but it is not a direct change to Morgan Stanley’s earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley turns bullish on IT hardware
• Negative Sentiment: A critical report on Morgan Stanley’s direct-lending business raised concerns about recent results and credit-market risks. Although details were limited, the negative coverage may weigh on sentiment toward the firm’s private-credit operations. Morgan Stanley direct lending results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $217.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $342.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $141.03 and a 12 month high of $232.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $216.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

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

Morgan Stanley Company 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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