Chapin Davis Inc. Has $372,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Chapin Davis Inc. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 63.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,129,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,209,000 after purchasing an additional 471,432 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $17,791,000. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $469,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $214.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $338.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a 1 year low of $145.65 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry tailwinds support the outlook: Zacks identified Morgan Stanley among investment banks positioned to benefit from increased technology spending, active trading, and stronger underwriting and advisory activity. These trends could support revenue growth across wealth management and institutional securities. 3 Investment Bank Stocks Set to Benefit From Industry Tailwinds
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a fundamental support: Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted earnings per share of $3.46, well above the $2.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 27.1% year over year to $21.35 billion. However, these results were released earlier and do not represent a fresh trading catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment-banking activity remains visible: Morgan Stanley was listed among institutional buyers in recent Indian transactions involving Purple Style Labs and Lenskart. These deals may generate advisory or underwriting revenue, but the announcements do not appear material enough to directly affect MS shares. Purple Style Raises Funds Ahead of IPO

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.75.

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.