Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,385 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 6,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.2% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $245,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 42.1% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 14,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported Q3 revenue of $20.34 billion and EPS of $3.03, surpassing consensus estimates. Revenue increased 11.6% year over year, while net income applicable to the company reached approximately $4.9 billion. Morgan Stanley Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Record Wealth Management revenue of $9.1 billion, $232.4 billion in net new assets and $80.5 billion in fee-based flows underscored the firm’s more stable recurring-growth strategy. Equity trading revenue also surged 41%, helping offset weaker fixed-income markets. Morgan Stanley Q3 Profit
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to a $4.60 annualized payout and roughly a 2.6% yield. Morgan Stanley also repurchased $1.54 billion of stock, supporting shareholder returns.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted AI-related financing opportunities, IPO activity and disciplined capital allocation. However, these growth opportunities remain sensitive to market conditions and client activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts lowered price targets after the earnings release. TD Cowen cut its target to $205 from $210 and maintained a Hold rating, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced its target to $230 from $250 despite reaffirming Outperform. The revisions suggest the earnings beat was largely anticipated or viewed as difficult to sustain. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Higher interest-rate volatility and a bond-market selloff hurt fixed-income trading revenue across Wall Street, highlighting Morgan Stanley’s continued exposure to market-sensitive businesses. Investors also appear concerned that the stock’s recent gains already reflect much of its strong operating performance.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:MS traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $180.01. The company had a trading volume of 3,474,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,164,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $152.80 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $283.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $205.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.67.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.