Venture Visionary Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,254 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bayban raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $189.67. 5,047,328 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,168,952. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.66. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $151.84 and a fifty-two week high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $299.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.71 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.19%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer endorsed Morgan Stanley after its recent pullback, pointing to the company’s buyback authorization and arguing that the decline has been excessive relative to the firm’s underlying prospects. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley received a role as a joint lead manager for the United Kingdom’s planned digitally native government bond, potentially creating fees and strategic opportunities in digital-asset and securities-market infrastructure. UK Names Banks to Lead Digital Government Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm proposed converting eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, with nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could improve product competitiveness and distribution, but shareholder approval is still required. Morgan Stanley Plans Eaton Vance Fund Conversions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to rate Morgan Stanley favorably overall, with coverage summarized as “Moderate Buy” and an average price target near $219.90. However, the consensus includes a meaningful number of hold ratings, limiting the strength of the signal. Morgan Stanley Receives Moderate Buy Rating
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets reduced its Morgan Stanley price target from $250 to $215 while retaining an “Outperform” rating. The lower target signals more restrained expectations and may be weighing on sentiment despite the implied upside. BMO Cuts Morgan Stanley Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Ahead of the next earnings report, Zacks said Morgan Stanley lacks the combination of factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. That caution, combined with uncertainty around near-term trading and investment-banking results, is adding pressure after the recent pullback. Morgan Stanley Earnings Expectations

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.90.

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.