Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $512,867,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $159,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $94.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,114,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,552,419. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.24 and a 200 day moving average of $93.99. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The company has a market cap of $154.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Cfra increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

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.