The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,667,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,314,332 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $657,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 25.9% in the second quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 9,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.0% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 33,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $5,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $179.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $285.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $181.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.