J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 17,824 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 144.2% in Q1 2023, now holding 30,182 shares valued at approximately $3.52 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported an EPS of $2.13 for Q2 2023, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.98, with revenue up 11.8% year-over-year to $16.79 billion.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in its valuation, along with announcing a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 144.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,182 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,824 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 219.1% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 1,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 361,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,229,000 after buying an additional 73,778 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 56.8% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 70,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,276,000 after buying an additional 25,705 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.4% during the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 49,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,742,000 after purchasing an additional 9,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.0% in the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $140.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,229,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,797,938. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.28. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $91.52 and a fifty-two week high of $145.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. 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 (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board 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.