ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Purchases Shares of 176,985 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. recently invested approximately $20.65 million in Morgan Stanley, acquiring 176,985 shares during the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley has announced a $20 billion share buyback program to repurchase up to 8.9% of its outstanding shares, which typically indicates that the company's stock is perceived as undervalued.
• The company's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.15, alongside an 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth to $16.79 billion.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 176,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,649,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,685,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.23. 3,942,908 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,415,230. The stock has a market cap of $228.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $93.54 and a one year high of $145.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.24 and a 200-day moving average of $128.52. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 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 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. 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 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.