Quantitative Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC has invested approximately $2.41 million in Morgan Stanley by acquiring 20,639 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors, including Meridian Wealth Management LLC and AGF Management Ltd., have significantly increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, indicating strong interest in the stock.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, and announced a share repurchase plan authorizing up to $20 billion for stock buybacks.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,407,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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 research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $150.16. 3,897,828 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,572,768. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $150.39. The stock has a market cap of $239.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.34 and a 200-day moving average of $129.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors 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 of directors believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.