Scotia Capital Inc. Has $28.28 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,143 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st 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 period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd 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. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $168.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.53. The company has a market capitalization of $267.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $171.77.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.38.

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.