Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Lifted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,016 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $185.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $152.80 and a 1 year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $240 from $236 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial upside from the reference price in the report. UBS raises Morgan Stanley price target
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching a $2.3 billion Baldwin debt offering. The deal may provide underwriting activity and related fee revenue, although the article listing offers limited detail. Morgan Stanley launches Baldwin debt offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s market outlook is divided: one strategist sees the election as a potential “clearing event” that could help the selloff end, while other reports flag risks from election uncertainty and fragile technology-stock buying. The outlook matters to MS because market moves can affect trading and wealth-management activity. Morgan Stanley flags a stock-market turning point
• Neutral Sentiment: E*TRADE published its monthly sector-rotation study, highlighting client buying and selling across market sectors; the announcement provides no specific indication of a direct financial impact on MS. E*TRADE sector rotation study
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley strategists have warned that the S&P 500 could face further losses, with one report citing a possible 9% decline and another describing three potential “clearing events.” Persistent volatility could curb investor activity and pressure market-sensitive businesses. Morgan Stanley warns the S&P 500 could drop

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, institutions, governments and individual investors. Founded in 1935, the company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients through operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Institutional Securities segment, Morgan Stanley offers investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, research, lending and related capital-markets services.