DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $78.65 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 692,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 105,095 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $78,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after buying an additional 2,453,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $142.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,646,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,680,124. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.60.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.