National Bank of Canada FI Has $73.68 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 83,233 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $73,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company'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 value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $90.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.98. The company has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.30.

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.