Nexus Investment Management ULC Sells 50,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nexus Investment Management ULC lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 132,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $2,040,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.78. 12,389,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $129.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.67. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $138.08. The company has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.