Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 93.5% during the second quarter, owning 98,393 shares valued at approximately $13.86 million.
• Insiders sold 148,149 shares of Morgan Stanley stock for a total value of $20.84 million over the last 90 days, resulting in a decrease of their ownership.
• Morgan Stanley's board has authorized a $20 billion share buyback program and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,550 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 80,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,382,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 6,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

MS opened at $156.60 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $145.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.66. 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 company has a market cap of $249.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $158.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

About Morgan Stanley

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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