Compass Financial Management LLC Purchases New Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. X Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $855,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,838,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,417,000. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $915,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $214.42 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $144.67 and a one year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its gold outlook, arguing that gold’s recent breakout could extend higher and forecasting prices above $5,000 per ounce by 2027. A stronger commodities outlook could benefit the firm’s trading, wealth-management and investment-banking businesses. Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on Gold After Breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reportedly selected Dallas for a major expansion outside New York City. The move could improve long-term operating flexibility, expand access to talent and support growth in a lower-cost financial center. Morgan Stanley said to pick Dallas for expansion outside NYC
• Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to position itself in emerging investment products, including an Ethereum exchange-traded product that offers staking yield. This may broaden fee-generating opportunities and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s digital-asset platform.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research highlighted a projected 38-gigawatt power shortfall for AI data centers, identifying potential opportunities in industrial, energy and infrastructure financing. The report may support future advisory and capital-markets activity, but it does not represent a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says AI Data Centers Face a 38-Gigawatt Power Gap
• Negative Sentiment: The Ethereum product also exposes investors to staking-related risks, including slashing penalties, provider risk and withdrawal delays. These concerns could limit adoption or increase reputational and operational risk. Morgan Stanley Put Ethereum Yield in an ETP. Who Carries the Risk?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank hired Morgan Stanley’s top Canadian banker, a competitive setback that could affect Morgan Stanley’s Canadian investment-banking and precious-metals operations. Scotiabank hires Morgan Stanley’s top Canada banker Richard Tory

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

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.