Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Acquires 56,886 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,890,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,886 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $355,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,825,883,310. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after acquiring an additional 87,533 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 188,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 1st 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,235,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,190,585,000 after purchasing an additional 65,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.62.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $180.24 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $152.80 and a one year high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

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

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Chief U.S. equity strategist Mike Wilson said the recent market correction is likely in its “final innings” and projected the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027. His recommendation for investors to prepare to add risk may support Morgan Stanley’s wealth-management, investment-banking and trading businesses by improving client confidence and market activity. Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson market outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage has highlighted Morgan Stanley as an oversold financial stock with potential for a fourth-quarter rebound. That positioning may be encouraging bargain hunters, particularly given the company’s recent earnings beat, revenue growth and nearly 20% return on equity. Oversold financial stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lowered its Morgan Stanley price target to $210 from $215 but maintained an “Outperform” rating, implying analysts still see upside while modestly reducing their valuation expectations. Separate coverage described analyst opinions on MS as mixed, suggesting the stock’s recovery could remain sensitive to valuation and market conditions. Mixed analyst opinions on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.