Forsta AP Fonden Sells 22,500 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 259,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $166.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $264.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $167.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

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.