Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 252,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,258 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $214.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $214.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.18. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year high of $232.25. The company has a market capitalization of $338.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.23.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 32.34%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion: Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners agreed to acquire Epic Energy, potentially expanding the firm’s exposure to infrastructure investing and strengthening its alternative-asset platform. Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners to acquire Epic Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Strong positioning in AI and markets: Morgan Stanley strategists said companies adopting artificial intelligence could benefit from stronger profit margins, while the firm continues to favor high-quality megacap stocks. This reinforces Morgan Stanley’s role as a prominent adviser and source of market strategy during the AI-driven investment cycle. Morgan Stanley’s Wilson Says AI Adoption Key to Profit Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive analyst visibility: Morgan Stanley remains bullish on Seagate and Western Digital, companies benefiting from AI-related storage demand. Continued high-profile research calls may support the firm’s equity-research franchise and trading activity. Seagate, Western Digital Slide Again. Morgan Stanley Still Pounding the Table
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and ETF fee advantage: Morgan Stanley was described as a top long-term momentum stock by Zacks, and its Bitcoin ETF reportedly charges a lower sponsor fee than BlackRock’s comparable product. These developments could help sentiment toward its wealth-management and asset-management businesses. Why Morgan Stanley Is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Talent departure: OpenAI hired former Morgan Stanley managing director Alisha Lehr for a private-equity-focused role. The move highlights demand for Morgan Stanley talent but represents a modest loss of experienced personnel. OpenAI’s Private Equity Ambitions Grow With Morgan Stanley Executive Hire
• Neutral Sentiment: Market concentration risk: Morgan Stanley warned that investors heavily concentrated in a small group of mega-cap technology stocks may face a shift in market leadership. The outlook could influence client positioning and trading volumes, but does not directly change Morgan Stanley’s fundamentals. Morgan Stanley Sees Shift Coming for Big Tech Investors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.50.

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.