Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 471,432 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Wellington Management increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 10.1% in the second quarter, buying 471,432 shares to hold 5.13 million shares worth approximately $1.07 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the stock.
• 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. The company also authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $224.75, compared with a recent price of $214.69.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,129,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 471,432 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.33% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,072,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,736,648,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,040,227,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $214.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $338.63 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $216.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $145.65 and a one year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Dbs Bank upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC lifted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.75.

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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