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

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 143.4% in the second quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during the second quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Bayban lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 72.5% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.50 on Thursday, reaching $180.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,474,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,164,683. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $205.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $283.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $152.80 and a twelve month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The company had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.67.

About Morgan Stanley

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.