DnB Asset Management AS Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 15.3% in the first quarter, selling 140,481 shares, leaving them with a total of 778,556 shares valued at approximately $90.83 million.
• Morgan Stanley increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, representing a yield of 2.7% and an annualized amount of $4.00.
• Morgan Stanley's stock has a market capitalization of $236.95 billion and recently surpassed earnings expectations, reporting $2.13 earnings per share for the latest quarter.

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 778,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 140,481 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $90,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after purchasing an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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 boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of MS traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,696,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The company's 50-day moving average is $144.22 and its 200-day moving average is $129.71. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $151.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.