Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Acquires 999 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 60.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 123,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,556,000 after purchasing an additional 6,269 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,163,000 after acquiring an additional 4,447 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 585,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,593,000 after buying an additional 102,554 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MS traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 519,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,828,367. The firm has a market cap of $146.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.18.

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.