Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 377,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,094 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $61,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $218.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $344.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $135.26 and a 1-year high of $230.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $207.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.70.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Argus increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $250 from $225 and kept a Buy rating, signaling more upside as the firm heads into earnings season. Benzinga coverage of Morgan Stanley target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also lifted its target to $255 and reiterated a Buy rating, adding to bullish analyst sentiment ahead of the company’s July 15 Q2 report. Benzinga coverage of UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s view that large-cap tech could rally again, which may be helping the broader “risk-on” tone around financial markets and Morgan Stanley shares. TipRanks article on Morgan Stanley Mag 7 call
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s own upcoming earnings release, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth already baked into forecasts, which can keep the stock active but not necessarily directional by itself. Benzinga earnings preview for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, recent commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s continued shift of client assets toward adviser-led wealth management, a longer-term strategic positive but not a near-term catalyst. 247WallSt article on Morgan Stanley wealth management shift

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.