Bluefin Capital Management LLC Invests $315,000 in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Bluefin Capital Management LLC invested approximately $315,000 in Morgan Stanley, acquiring 2,700 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Morgan Stanley, with a target price averaging around $138.25, reflecting various upgrades from firms like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
• Morgan Stanley recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00, and announced a share repurchase plan allowing the company to buy back up to $20 billion in shares.

Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $152.22 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $152.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $144.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.96. The firm has a market cap of $242.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

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.

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