Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 51.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,042 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 8,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Emfo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Emfo LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 52,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,903,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $90.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.