Morgan Stanley $MS Position Increased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.6%, owning 171,732 shares valued at approximately $24.19 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8%.
• The company has authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating that management believes the stock is undervalued, while also increasing its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $159.68. The company had a trading volume of 14,899,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. The company has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $161.09. The business's 50-day moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average is $131.49. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.