Cidel Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MS stock opened at $158.70 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $166.77. The stock has a market cap of $253.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.10.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.54.

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.