AMF Tjanstepension AB Buys 196,836 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 92.7%, acquiring an additional 196,836 shares, bringing its total holdings to 409,071 shares valued at $57.6 million.
• Insider transactions included significant stock sales, with Andrew M. Saperstein selling 43,566 shares and Daniel A. Simkowitz selling 29,000 shares, indicating a decrease in ownership for both insiders.
• Several brokerages raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs adjusting its target from $145.00 to $164.00 and Evercore ISI from $150.00 to $165.00, reflecting optimistic market sentiment.

AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 92.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 409,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 196,836 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $57,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $157.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $150.30 and its 200-day moving average is $134.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.