Cinctive Capital Management LP Has $15.01 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 112.2% in Q1, now owning 128,641 shares valued at $15 million, making it the firm's 20th largest holding.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo setting targets of $136.00 and $145.00 respectively, while the stock holds a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share and initiated a stock repurchase plan of $20 billion, indicating strong board confidence in the stock's valuation.

Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 112.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,009 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.1% of Cinctive Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cinctive Capital Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $15,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MS traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,696,664 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick 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 $151.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $144.22 and a 200-day moving average of $129.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost 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 currently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.