Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 382.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $166,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The company has a market capitalization of $211.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.27 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.82%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 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.