XTX Topco Ltd Purchases 23,575 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 365.8% in the first quarter, owning a total of 30,020 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Insider transactions included sales of 18,000 and 29,000 shares by executives, indicating a 11.66% and 6.77% decrease in their respective positions.
• Morgan Stanley has announced a new $20 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the stock's value, along with a dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.00 per share.

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 365.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,575 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE MS traded up $1.39 on Wednesday, hitting $144.95. 5,231,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,336,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley 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.