Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its Morgan Stanley stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 16,953 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 906,141 shares worth about $160.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted positions, and overall 84.19% of Morgan Stanley’s stock is now owned by institutions and hedge funds, highlighting strong professional investor interest.
• Morgan Stanley posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.43 per share on revenue of $20.58 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $205.95.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 906,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,953 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $160,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after acquiring an additional 822,120 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha flagged that Morgan Stanley was upgraded to Buy after its strong first-quarter results, reinforcing the view that recent earnings momentum is still supporting the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) ahead of the GTA VI release, underscoring continued active equity-research influence and a generally constructive tone from the bank’s analysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent stock commentary said MS has delivered a strong one-year rally, with investors still debating valuation versus earnings power rather than reacting to any single new company-specific surprise. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $201.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $203.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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