Caxton Associates LLP Invests $705,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 6,039 shares valued at approximately $705,000 during the first quarter.
• Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120 to $145, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded the stock to "outperform" and raised the target price to $160.
• Morgan Stanley has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from the previous $0.93, indicating a positive trend in the company’s financial performance.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.47. The company had a trading volume of 4,341,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,375,522. The company has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $157.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.49.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.