3,504 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Bought by Compass Financial Management LLC

Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Freedom Capital upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MS opened at $214.42 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $338.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $144.67 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $217.16 and a 200-day moving average of $194.19. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.15 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its gold outlook, arguing that gold’s recent breakout could extend higher and forecasting prices above $5,000 per ounce by 2027. A stronger commodities outlook could benefit the firm’s trading, wealth-management and investment-banking businesses. Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on Gold After Breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reportedly selected Dallas for a major expansion outside New York City. The move could improve long-term operating flexibility, expand access to talent and support growth in a lower-cost financial center. Morgan Stanley said to pick Dallas for expansion outside NYC
• Positive Sentiment: The firm continues to position itself in emerging investment products, including an Ethereum exchange-traded product that offers staking yield. This may broaden fee-generating opportunities and strengthen Morgan Stanley’s digital-asset platform.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research highlighted a projected 38-gigawatt power shortfall for AI data centers, identifying potential opportunities in industrial, energy and infrastructure financing. The report may support future advisory and capital-markets activity, but it does not represent a direct earnings catalyst. Morgan Stanley Says AI Data Centers Face a 38-Gigawatt Power Gap
• Negative Sentiment: The Ethereum product also exposes investors to staking-related risks, including slashing penalties, provider risk and withdrawal delays. These concerns could limit adoption or increase reputational and operational risk. Morgan Stanley Put Ethereum Yield in an ETP. Who Carries the Risk?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank hired Morgan Stanley’s top Canadian banker, a competitive setback that could affect Morgan Stanley’s Canadian investment-banking and precious-metals operations. Scotiabank hires Morgan Stanley’s top Canada banker Richard Tory

About Morgan Stanley

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.