Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc.

Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 532.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% during the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $180.73. 5,644,483 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,073,885. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $204.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $152.80 and a one year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $250.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.86.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record wealth-management results, including approximately $9.1 billion in revenue, strong net new assets and $10.5 trillion in wealth assets, reinforced Morgan Stanley’s long-term growth strategy. Morgan Stanley Q3 profit hits $4.9bn on wealth gains and IPO inflows
• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading revenue surged 41% year over year, helping drive the earnings and revenue outperformance. Management also highlighted opportunities from AI financing and disciplined capital allocation. Morgan Stanley Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Wealth and AI Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a stated yield of about 2.5%, providing ongoing shareholder support.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $198 while maintaining a Neutral rating, but Citigroup, TD Cowen and KBW lowered their targets to $190, $205 and $230, respectively. Morgan Stanley Analysts Cut Their Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appeared concerned that growth was concentrated in equities and trading, while profitability metrics and the business mix were less compelling. The strong beat therefore did not translate into higher valuation expectations. Morgan Stanley Beats on Earnings, But Shares Fall on Trading Mix

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.