QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $58.45 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

by · The Cerbat Gem

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,010 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $8,854,000. Arsenal Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $814,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 11,726 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 71,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,724,000 after buying an additional 11,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 294,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,468,000 after buying an additional 28,877 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

  • Positive Sentiment: The leaked internal document reportedly listed more than 100 investment-banking deals that Morgan Stanley is pitching or monitoring in Asia. While the disclosure is a reputational concern, the size of the pipeline may signal continued advisory and underwriting activity. Morgan Stanley Investment-Bank Deal List Leaked in Email Misfire
  • Positive Sentiment: A reported $720 million Accelevation IPO entering the queue points to a recovering investment-banking cycle, although Morgan Stanley’s role and fee have not been disclosed. More capital-markets activity could support future advisory and underwriting revenue. Morgan Stanley Falls as AI IPO Enters Queue
  • Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley analysts highlighted ServiceTitan, CCC and Via as potential beneficiaries of consumer-agent adoption. The research may reinforce the firm’s technology and thematic-research profile, but it does not represent a direct earnings catalyst for MS. ServiceTitan, CCC and Via Might Receive a Boost From Consumer Agents
  • Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also published a list of “overweight” stocks ahead of earnings season and reiterated that strong earnings and cash flow are increasingly important in a higher-rate environment. This is more relevant to the firm’s research franchise than to near-term company financials. Morgan Stanley Names Its Overweight Stocks to Buy
  • Negative Sentiment: A Morgan Stanley staffer reportedly misfired an email containing confidential details about more than 100 investment-banking deals in Asia. The firm apologized and is investigating; potential client, regulatory and reputational consequences likely outweighed the positive signal from the underlying deal pipeline. Morgan Stanley Apologizes for Misfired Email

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.9%

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $198.31. The stock had a trading volume of 4,341,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,201,396. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.06. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $151.84 and a 1-year high of $232.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. 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 – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%.The business’s revenue 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, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 37.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.75.

View Our Latest Research Report on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.

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