Hamlin Capital Management LLC Has $246.31 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Hamlin Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,178,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 110,420 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 5.5% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $246,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results remain a key support: earnings per share of $3.46 and revenue of $21.35 billion exceeded consensus estimates, with revenue rising 27.1% year over year. The results highlighted strong operating momentum across the financial-services business.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s launch of a Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust ETF gives investors new access to cryptocurrency exposure and expands the company’s asset-management product lineup. The offering could provide additional fee revenue and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s position in digital assets. Better Buy: iShares Bitcoin ETF vs. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s outlook is cautiously optimistic. Analysts generally see further upside potential, but recent commentary suggests the stock may be fairly valued or slightly overvalued after its substantial multiyear gains and the new crypto ETF launch. Morgan Stanley Stock May Be Slightly Overvalued Following New Crypto ETF Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent institutional activity shows Morgan Stanley adding to several growth and infrastructure-related holdings while reducing positions in others. These portfolio changes are not a direct company catalyst but reflect ongoing active investment management and may contribute modestly to market attention.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $140.51 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $344.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $216.16 and its 200-day moving average is $191.49.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business 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 19.51% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

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.