Cullen Capital Management LLC Makes New $295.48 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,413,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $295,482,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.9% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.75.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $214.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company has a market cap of $337.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $145.65 and a 52 week high of $232.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is expanding its international wealth-management strategy, aiming to serve offshore clients in their home markets. The initiative could broaden the firm’s addressable client base and support recurring fee revenue. Morgan Stanley’s Bobby Singh: Why We Are Exploring an International Wealth Push
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley continues to participate in investment-banking activity, including as a dealer manager for Tyson Foods’ $1.2 billion debt tender offer and as an adviser or buyer in recent equity transactions. These activities may generate fees, although no material financial impact was disclosed. Tyson Foods Announces Pricing Terms and Early Settlement of Debt Tender Offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s shares have gained 45.1% over the past year and outperformed peers, highlighting strong momentum but also raising the bar for additional gains. Morgan Stanley Gains 45.1% in a Year: Should You Buy MS Stock Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s research team expects bond yields could rise in a postwar-style economic regime and recommends large-cap, high-quality companies and artificial-intelligence adopters. Higher yields can benefit some interest-related businesses but may pressure valuations and slow deal activity. The post-World War II market shift is here
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholders are suing JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley over their roles as advisers on multibillion-dollar buyouts. The litigation creates potential legal costs, liability and reputational risk, although the financial exposure remains unclear. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley defend against suits over roles in buyouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary cautions that trading revenue is cyclical, expenses are rising and Morgan Stanley’s premium valuation may limit near-term upside. These concerns likely contribute to subdued trading despite the firm’s strong annual gain. Morgan Stanley Gains 45.1% in a Year

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.