Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 26,930 Morgan Stanley call options, 63% above the average daily volume of 16,516, signaling increased bullish trading interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: Morgan Stanley has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $219.90, though several analysts recently lowered their targets and many maintain hold ratings.
• Shareholder returns and operating results were strong: Morgan Stanley authorized a $20 billion share-buyback program, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, and most recently reported earnings and revenue above analyst expectations.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 26,930 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 63% compared to the average daily volume of 16,516 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.90.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vann Equity Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the third quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC now owns 10,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,004,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 86,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,312,000 after buying an additional 5,254 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 410 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 7,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer endorsed Morgan Stanley as a buy after its pullback, citing the company’s share-repurchase authorization and confidence in CEO Ted Pick’s strategy. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is proposing to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, with nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could improve product flexibility and strengthen the firm’s position in the growing ETF market, although shareholder approval is required. Morgan Stanley Plans Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
• Positive Sentiment: The firm was selected as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned digitally native government bond, providing potential underwriting, distribution and investor-engagement revenue while expanding its digital-assets credentials. UK Names Banks for Digital Government Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive, with Morgan Stanley receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target near $219.90, implying meaningful upside from the current trading level. However, the consensus includes a sizable number of hold ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights Morgan Stanley’s integrated investment-banking, wealth-management and asset-management model as a potential long-term earnings driver as deal activity recovers and client assets expand. Can Morgan Stanley’s Integrated Model Drive Long-Term Earnings Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target from $250 to $215 while maintaining an “Outperform” rating. The reduced target signals more limited near-term upside and likely contributed to the stock’s weakness. BMO Cuts Morgan Stanley Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks preview said Morgan Stanley does not currently have the combination of earnings and estimate-revision signals typically associated with a likely quarterly earnings beat, increasing investor caution before results. Morgan Stanley Earnings Expected to Grow

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $189.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $151.84 and a one year high of $232.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $208.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company 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%.Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.

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