Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley shares by 61% during Q2, owning 942,000 shares valued at approximately $132.6 million.
• Insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares at an average price of $140.97, reducing his ownership by 12.9%, while CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares, reflecting a 16.59% decrease in her position.
• Morgan Stanley's shares are currently trading at around $157.28, with a quarterly dividend recently increased to $1.00 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 45.3%.

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 61.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 942,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 357,000 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt owned approximately 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $132,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider 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. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MS traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.68. The stock had a trading volume of 14,899,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $161.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.49. The company has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.92.

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.