APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 41,575 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during Q1, selling 41,575 shares, and now holds 748,771 shares valued at approximately $80.87 million.
• Insiders, including Daniel A. Simkowitz and Charles A. Smith, sold significant quantities of Morgan Stanley stock on July 17th, with total insider sales in the last ninety days amounting to $20.84 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $4.00 and a dividend yield of 2.7%.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,575 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $80,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $147.9340 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $141.29 and its 200 day moving average is $129.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $149.08. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

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