Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $124.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $136.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.83. The company has a market capitalization of $199.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.