TFR Capital LLC. Buys Shares of 4,023 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,513,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MS traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.69. 10,609,559 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,633,898. The firm has a market cap of $224.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.92. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.