Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 10,042 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,042 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBOE Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.4% in the third quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 104,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,495,000 after buying an additional 44,725 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Cfra raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.