TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases 38,348 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,348 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $32,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.38 on Friday, hitting $115.98. 5,013,101 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,871,108. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.45. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.50.

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.