IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $33.45 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.9%, owning 237,435 shares valued at approximately $33.4 million as reported in its recent SEC filing.
• Brokerages have shown increased confidence in Morgan Stanley, with Wells Fargo raising its price target from $145 to $165 and Erste Group upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, and has a share repurchase program authorized for up to $20 billion.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,098 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $33,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 426.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 118,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,954,000 after buying an additional 96,347 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,024,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,980,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.44 during 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 one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $161.09. 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 cap of $254.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $146.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.55.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.