Nordea Investment Management AB Has $208.27 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,420,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258,305 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $208,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 15,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the first quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.9 %

MS traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.25. 1,494,923 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,281,970. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $74.67 and a 12-month high of $100.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.94.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.02 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.22.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $11,543,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares in the company, valued at $104,941,460.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total transaction of $517,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $11,543,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,941,460.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.