Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Invests $68.26 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 585,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $68,264,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,256,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,563,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.24. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $145.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 41.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.