AlphaQuest LLC Has $925,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 315.3% during Q1, now owning 7,932 shares worth approximately $925,000.
• Morgan Stanley's shares recently traded up 2.7%, reaching around $147.93, with a market capitalization of $236.15 billion and a twelve-month high of $149.08.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, surpassing analysts' estimates, along with announcing a $20 billion share buyback program and a new quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 315.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,022 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MS traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,144,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,545,402. The company has a market cap of $239.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.69 and a 200 day moving average of $129.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $150.75.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.