4,225 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Acquired by Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC

Lionsbridge Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $417,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 11,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 15,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,321,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $211.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $215.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.90. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $145.65 and a 12-month high of $232.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm has a market cap of $332.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.21.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest earnings showed strong operating momentum: quarterly EPS of $3.46 exceeded estimates of $2.89, revenue reached $21.35 billion versus expectations of $19.67 billion, and revenue increased 27.1% year over year. The results support the longer-term bullish case for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to expand client engagement and trading activity through E*TRADE. Its monthly sector-rotation study provides data on client buying and selling across U.S.-traded stocks, reinforcing Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management and brokerage presence. E*TRADE Releases Monthly Sector Rotation Study
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley argued that investors may be focusing on U.S. debt concerns while overlooking broader economic and market risks. The commentary highlights the firm’s macroeconomic expertise but does not provide a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says U.S. Debt Fears Miss Bigger Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s analyst teams remain active, including bullish calls on Robinhood, Broadcom and other growth companies. These calls may support advisory and research visibility, but they are unlikely to materially affect MS stock in the near term.
• Negative Sentiment: The immediate pressure is macroeconomic: higher long-term yields can increase market volatility, tighten financial conditions and weigh on investor sentiment toward banks and wealth managers. The rate spike also temporarily undermined Morgan Stanley’s technical breakout setup. Morgan Stanley Stock and Treasury Yield Rise

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.