Nykredit A S Takes Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Nykredit A S purchased 439,390 Morgan Stanley shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $91.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.46 in earnings per share and $21.35 billion in revenue, with revenue up 27.1% year over year. The company also authorized a $20 billion share-repurchase program.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share, or $4.60 annualized, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $224.75.

Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 439,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $91,850,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,786,350,000 after buying an additional 534,708 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,441,505,000 after buying an additional 524,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after buying an additional 87,533 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $203.53 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $214.70 and its 200 day moving average is $199.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65. The company has a market cap of $321.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.21. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $151.84 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.75.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst report highlighted Morgan Stanley’s formidable wealth-management, trading and investment-banking franchises, reinforcing the view that the firm’s diversified business model can support durable revenue and earnings growth. Morgan Stanley Has Built Formidable Wealth Management, Trading, and Investment Banking Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management closed its inaugural North Haven Growth & Innovation Fund with an oversubscribed $1.3 billion in commitments. The fundraising validates investor demand for the firm’s private-growth platform and could create future management-fee and performance-fee opportunities. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Closes Inaugural Growth Equity Investment Fund
• Positive Sentiment: The firm plans to convert eight municipal-bond mutual funds representing nearly $10 billion of assets into exchange-traded funds. The move responds to strong demand for tax-efficient, flexible ETFs and may help Morgan Stanley retain assets while expanding its product lineup. Morgan Stanley Moves $10B of Municipal Funds Into ETFs
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary on Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings offered additional visibility into the financial-services sector, but the provided report does not identify a material rating or price-target change for MS. Analysts Offer Insights on Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: MS remains exposed to interest-rate and market conditions that can affect investment banking, trading activity and asset valuations. The stock is also below its 50-day moving average of $214.70, although it remains above its 200-day average of $199.29, suggesting a mixed technical backdrop.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. The company serves corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and institutional investors through a range of advisory, capital-raising, trading and investment-related activities.

Morgan Stanley's Institutional Securities business offers investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting and capital markets services.

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