Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP massively increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,977.2%, now holding $5.35 million worth of shares after buying 43,618 additional shares.
• Morgan Stanley reported stronger-than-expected earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the forecast of $1.98 and enjoying an 11.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting a 2.7% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 45.30%.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1,977.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,618 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,882,000 after buying an additional 8,776 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 277.8% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 185,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,660,000 after buying an additional 136,507 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 35,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,136,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,696,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $151.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.