Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 34,800 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.4%, selling 34,800 shares during the 1st quarter, leaving it with 154,533 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• Insider sales included a transaction where Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares for about $6.14 million, reflecting a 12.90% decrease in his ownership.
• Morgan Stanley has announced a $20 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, signaling strong financial health and confidence in its stock value.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,800 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares in the last quarter. Tlwm lifted 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 buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position 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 worth $7,288,000 after buying an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MS stock opened at $147.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a market capitalization of $235.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $149.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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