Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Has $210,000 Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,380,000 after purchasing an additional 517,446 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,883,392,000 after purchasing an additional 575,114 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $958,105,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $94.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,552,419. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.99. The stock has a market cap of $154.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.