Rathbones Group PLC Has $122.17 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Rathbones Group increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 742,378 shares valued at approximately $122.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley’s outstanding shares.
• Morgan Stanley reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 versus the $2.89 consensus estimate and revenue of $21.35 billion, up 27.1% year over year.
• The company authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase plan and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, equivalent to a $4.60 annualized dividend and a 2.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $224.50 average price target.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 742,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,953 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $122,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.8% during the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 3,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 1,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. DV Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 755.2% during the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 56,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,287,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $304,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $210.93 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $215.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.84. The stock has a market cap of $332.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $136.17 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s fiscal 2026 EPS forecast was reportedly increased by an analyst, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings strength following the company’s recent quarterly beat. FY2026 EPS Forecast for Morgan Stanley Boosted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is reportedly among the firms discussing financing for a large Texas data-center and power project. Such mandates could benefit its investment-banking, advisory and financing businesses as demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure expands. Morgan Stanley, others in talks to finance data center and power project in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley-backed MEMX is set to combine with options exchange BOX in a transaction that gives control of the merged entity to TMX Group. The deal could strengthen Morgan Stanley’s strategic exposure to market infrastructure, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Jane Street-Backed Exchange Sells Control to Canada’s TMX Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s $1.15-per-share cash dividend went ex-dividend on July 31 and is scheduled for payment on August 14. The ex-dividend adjustment can create short-term volatility, but it does not change the company’s underlying earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley's Dividend Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity, with 40,133 calls traded versus typical daily volume of about 18,021, indicated increased speculative interest in MS shares, though options activity alone does not establish a fundamental catalyst.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.50.

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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