Nexus Investment Management ULC Purchases 9,674 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,674 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.5% of Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 13,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 57.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 60.4% in the first quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 228,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,644,000 after acquiring an additional 85,985 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 80,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,394,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 3,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:MS opened at $128.08 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.44.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

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.