Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 440,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $45,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $3.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,609,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The stock has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

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.