CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,157 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 159,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $74,000. NTV Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 9,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 27,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $139.19 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.67. The company has a market capitalization of $224.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.41 and a twelve month high of $142.03. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.