Strategic Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Strategic Advisors LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 78.3% in the second quarter, selling 14,057 shares and retaining 3,887 shares valued at approximately $813,000. Institutional investors overall own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 beating estimates of $2.89 and revenue rising 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. 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, representing a 2.1% yield, and authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

Strategic Advisors LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 78.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,057 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $230,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $265,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $32,515,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 427.8% in the 2nd quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 26,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,625,000 after purchasing an additional 21,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 31,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $338.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $145.65 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $216.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.41.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds support the outlook: Zacks identified Morgan Stanley among investment banks positioned to benefit from increased technology spending, active trading, and stronger underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a fundamental support: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. However, these results were released earlier and do not represent a fresh trading catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains visible: Morgan Stanley was listed among institutional buyers in recent Indian transactions involving Purple Style Labs and Lenskart. These deals may generate advisory or underwriting revenue, but the announcements do not appear material enough to directly affect MS shares. Purple Style Raises Funds Ahead of IPO

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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