Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $158.95 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp significantly increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 59%, owning approximately 1.36 million shares valued at $158.95 million.
• Insiders at Morgan Stanley have sold a total of 188,949 shares worth over $25 million in the last three months, representing a decrease in their respective positions.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, equating to a 2.80% annual yield.

Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 59.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,362,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 505,642 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $158,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,685,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $143.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $229.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 41.90%.

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.

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