Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd opened a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter, buying 312,422 shares valued at about $55.5 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 16% year over year.
• The company recently paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.0%, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price around $205.95.

Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 312,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $55,464,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $201.18 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $179.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.01. The company has a market cap of $317.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $123.88 and a 1 year high of $203.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha flagged that Morgan Stanley was upgraded to Buy after its strong first-quarter results, reinforcing the view that recent earnings momentum is still supporting the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) ahead of the GTA VI release, underscoring continued active equity-research influence and a generally constructive tone from the bank’s analysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent stock commentary said MS has delivered a strong one-year rally, with investors still debating valuation versus earnings power rather than reacting to any single new company-specific surprise. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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