LifeGoal Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

LifeGoal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,782,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.9% of LifeGoal Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after buying an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,794,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,846,000 after acquiring an additional 422,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MS opened at $187.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $295.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $151.84 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.85.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.19%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.43.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating but assigned a $210 price target, implying roughly 12% upside from the referenced price. The target provides some valuation support despite the neutral rating. TD Cowen initiates coverage of Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity—26,930 calls traded, approximately 63% above average—signals that some traders are positioning for a rebound or upside volatility. Morgan Stanley unusual options activity
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer recently backed Morgan Stanley following its pullback, highlighting the company’s buyback authorization and long-term appeal. Jim Cramer backs Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley proposed converting eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, totaling nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs. The move could improve product competitiveness and fee efficiency, but shareholder approval is still required. Morgan Stanley proposes municipal fund conversions
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, adding to the perception that the stock’s recent run-up has left less near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are cautious ahead of the next earnings report: recent coverage suggests Morgan Stanley lacks the usual combination of positive earnings revisions and estimate momentum associated with a likely beat. Morgan Stanley stock market performance analysis

Morgan Stanley 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.