Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.6% during Q2, selling 18,789 shares, leaving it with 158,196 shares valued at $22.28 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Wells Fargo increasing its target to $165.00 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to $160.00, indicating strong market confidence in the firm's stock.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share and authorized a $20 billion share repurchase plan, suggesting the company's belief in its undervaluation.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,789 shares during the quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $157.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.90. The firm has a market cap of $250.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS 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 issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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

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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