Mackenzie Financial Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,949 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBW Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the second quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Excalibur Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.13.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of 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. The firm has a market cap of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.81. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.