Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 86,500 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 36.3%, selling 86,500 shares and leaving it with 151,984 shares worth approximately $17.73 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Morgan Stanley have been generally positive, with Goldman Sachs raising its price target to $136 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrading to "outperform" with a target of $160.
• Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.13 and annualized dividends have been increased to $4.00 per share, indicating strong financial performance.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 86,500 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $152.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $152.82.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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.

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