Flputnam Investment Management Co. Purchases 12,504 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.4%, bringing its total shares to 88,629, valued at approximately $10.34 million.
• Insider transactions included significant sales, with Charles A. Smith and Michael A. Pizzi selling 20,000 and 18,000 shares respectively, indicating a 14.36% and 11.66% decrease in their ownership.
• Morgan Stanley's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $2.13 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.98, and announced a new $20 billion share buyback plan approved by its Board of Directors.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,504 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in 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 buying an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.5%

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,696,664 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $151.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.79. The company has a market cap of $236.62 billion, a PE 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

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.