Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,333,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,175,579 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $226,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $100.73 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.