Banco Santander S.A. Has $42.23 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 25.6% in the first quarter, owning 361,950 shares valued at approximately $42.23 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.13, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting an 11.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $16.79 billion.
• The company initiated a $20 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that its stock is undervalued, along with announcing a dividend increase to $1.00 per share.

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 73,778 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $42,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,774,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,685,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,210,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,157,918,000 after buying an additional 756,116 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related 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 sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:MS traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $141.25. 3,851,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,735,002. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.87 and a 200 day moving average of $128.26. The stock has a market cap of $226.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.