Morgan Stanley $MS Stake Decreased by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8%, holding 231,700 shares valued at approximately $32.64 million after selling 1,800 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Morgan Stanley, with Vanguard Group Inc. raising its holdings by 6.9%, while GAMMA Investing LLC dramatically boosted theirs by 12,318.0%.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.98, alongside a revenue increase of 11.8% year-over-year to $16.79 billion.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $32,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $157.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $158.48. The business's fifty day moving average is $146.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's 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 declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. 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 is presently 45.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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