MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Invests $776,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $776,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $512,867,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $159,714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MS opened at $103.61 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.