Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Acquires New Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 8,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $168.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $171.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.13 and its 200-day moving average is $147.53.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.38.

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.