National Bank of Canada FI Buys 43,198 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,215,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,198 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $171,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $178.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $181.98. The stock has a market cap of $283.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This trade represents 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Three research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

About Morgan Stanley

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.