Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lifted by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 49.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,204 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,685,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $143.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $229.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.55 and its 200-day moving average is $128.44. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $93.54 and a 52-week high of $145.48. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.25.

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.