223,497 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Acquired by Kodai Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 223,497 shares valued at approximately $26 million in Q1.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target price to $136 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising it to $160.
• Morgan Stanley recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, and approved a $20 billion share repurchase plan to buy back 8.9% of its outstanding shares.

Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 223,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,075,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

MS stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $148.90. 5,328,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,547,504. The company has a market capitalization of $237.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. 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 twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $150.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.