True North Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• True North Advisors cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 47.2% in the second quarter, selling 10,002 shares and retaining 11,201 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.46 versus the $2.89 estimate 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 raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share and authorized a $20 billion stock-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.

True North Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 47.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,002 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.75.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.5%

MS stock opened at $217.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.84 and a 200 day moving average of $193.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $342.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $141.03 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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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