Amundi Purchases 925,713 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.7%, purchasing an additional 925,713 shares, bringing its total ownership to 5,200,064 shares valued at approximately $567.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.98, with revenue up 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company's stock value amidst a rising interest in institutional investment.

Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,200,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 925,713 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.32% of Morgan Stanley worth $567,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 156,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,247,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:MS traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,696,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The company has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.79. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $151.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase 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 Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.