Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Acquired by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 54.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,562,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 553,374 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $257,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.5%

MS stock opened at $214.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $337.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.97. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $136.17 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.50.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s recent earnings results were strong, with the firm beating estimates on both EPS and revenue and posting robust year-over-year growth, which supports the stock’s longer-term fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to receive constructive Wall Street commentary, including a “Moderate Buy” consensus and recent bullish analyst coverage tied to its earnings power and capital markets franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent headlines also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit attracting new assets tied to SpaceX IPO interest, which reinforces the strength of its wealth and investment management businesses.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated market stories involving Morgan Stanley analyst calls on other stocks, plus broader AI/capex and earnings-driven volatility across large-cap tech and financials, may be influencing sentiment around MS indirectly.

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.