Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Raised by Scotia Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 126,618 shares valued at approximately $14.77 million.
• Insider trading reports reveal that Daniel A. Simkowitz and Michael A. Pizzi have both sold significant shares of Morgan Stanley, with the two transactions totaling approximately $6.62 million.
• Morgan Stanley declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, with an annualized yield of 2.9%, and announced a stock buyback program of $20 billion.

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,876 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after buying an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 386.2% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 24,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 19,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $139.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.26. The company has a market cap of $223.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $145.48.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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