Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 114,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,804,000. Morgan Stanley makes up about 3.4% of Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,846,000 after purchasing an additional 27,845 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,857,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $100.12. 3,111,960 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,588,666. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cfra boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.48.

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.