Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,016 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the third quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 10,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. MFG Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $428,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 454.3% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 8,400 shares in the last quarter. TrinityBridge Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 153,235.0% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityBridge Ltd now owns 306,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,689,000 after acquiring an additional 306,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 112,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $236 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the reference price in the report. UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching a $2.3 billion Baldwin debt offering. The deal may provide underwriting activity and related fee revenue, although the article listing offers limited detail. Morgan Stanley launches Baldwin debt offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market outlook is divided: one strategist sees the election as a potential “clearing event” that could help the selloff end, while other reports flag risks from election uncertainty and fragile technology-stock buying. The outlook matters to MS because market moves can affect trading and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley flags a stock-market turning point
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across market sectors; the announcement provides no specific indication of a direct financial impact on MS. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists have warned that the S&P 500 could face further losses, with one report citing a possible 9% decline and another describing three potential “clearing events.” Persistent volatility could curb investor activity and pressure market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley warns the S&P 500 could drop

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $185.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $293.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $196.97 and its 200-day moving average is $194.33. 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 52 week low of $152.80 and a 52 week high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.