USA Financial Formulas Invests $604,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 29,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 105,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,346,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 315.3% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 6,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $176.99 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $181.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.90.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: MS is widely reported as a front‑runner to lead the SpaceX IPO — a lead role would bring large underwriting fees and prestige that typically lift investment‑banking revenue expectations. Morgan Stanley seen as front-runner for SpaceX IPO, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support has picked up: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and others keep favorable ratings and recent coverage includes a higher price target, reinforcing buyside momentum. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Morgan Stanley Price Target to $202.00
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing analyst activity from large brokerages (including Morgan Stanley’s own research upgrades on major tech names) highlights the firm’s influential research footprint — a plus for institutional distribution and trading flows. Morgan Stanley Upgrades Accenture (ACN) to Overweight, Raises Target to $320
• Neutral Sentiment: MS is approaching its Q4 reporting window; previews expect single‑digit EPS growth — that lowers the bar but keeps upside tied to trading and underwriting beats. Morgan Stanley Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry commentary (Zacks / sector pieces) flags investment banks as beneficiaries of better trading and underwriting markets — supportive context but not unique to MS. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Investment Banking Industry
• Negative Sentiment: Not all signals are uniformly bullish — there was a near‑term pullback/weakness noted in commentary yesterday, underscoring that momentum could reverse if trading revenue or deal news disappoints. Morgan Stanley (MS) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.