National Pension Service Has $280.01 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.7%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company, worth about $280 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.15, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8%.
• The company also announced a new $20 billion share buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, marking a change from its previous dividend of $0.93.

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,399,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 86,056 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Morgan Stanley worth $280,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,685,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233,589 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $3.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,985,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,717,423. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $149.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.79. 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 firm has a market cap of $230.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company 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%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized 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 typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.