377,085,167 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 377,085,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.1% of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 23.91% of Morgan Stanley as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.7% in the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,828,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,312,171. The stock has a market cap of $338.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $145.65 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.18.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Research 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 given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Favorable investment-bank outlook: Zacks highlighted Morgan Stanley as a potential beneficiary of industry tailwinds, including technology spending, active trading, and improving underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing deal activity: Morgan Stanley was among the institutional buyers in Purple Style Labs’ pre-IPO anchor round and participated as a buyer in a large Lenskart block transaction. While the immediate financial impact is unclear, continued IPO and block-deal activity may benefit Morgan Stanley’s underwriting and equities businesses through fees and market share. Purple Style raises funds ahead of IPO Lenskart block deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong operating backdrop, but valuation remains relevant: Morgan Stanley’s latest reported quarter showed a substantial earnings and revenue beat, with revenue growth of 27.1% year over year and a 19.31% return on equity. However, the stock trades near its 52-week high and at roughly 17 times earnings, leaving investors focused on whether continued growth can justify further upside. Morgan Stanley stock and earnings information
• Negative Sentiment: Limited immediate catalyst and sector risks: The recent articles do not report a new earnings revision, acquisition, capital-return announcement, or other direct catalyst for MS. Investors also continue to face risks from elevated operating costs, regulatory requirements, and potentially uneven capital-markets activity.

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.