Aureus Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Aureus Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,831 shares during the quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of MS opened at $218.66 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $136.17 and a twelve month high of $232.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $344.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $213.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.34%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Dbs Bank raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. CICC Research lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.50.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s economics team raised its AI spending outlook sharply, saying global AI capex could reach $1.4 trillion by 2028; that reinforces the firm’s relevance in one of the market’s strongest investment themes and may support sentiment toward MS. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage also highlighted Morgan Stanley’s strong first-half performance versus peers, with analysts pointing to the bank’s solid quarterly results as evidence that Wall Street momentum may continue across the sector. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Morgan Stanley was cited in several sector notes and target updates across other companies, including AI, software, telecom, and industrial names, which keeps the firm visible but does not directly change MS fundamentals today.

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.