Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 46,907,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,118,465,000 after purchasing an additional 913,447 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,013,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,371,814,000 after buying an additional 1,604,768 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,258,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,973,640,000 after buying an additional 97,672 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 114.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,059,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,589,000 after acquiring an additional 12,321,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,315,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,695,930,000 after acquiring an additional 314,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $87.65 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $74.67 and a 12-month high of $100.99. The stock has a market cap of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.94.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 12.19%. The company had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward N. Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $9,433,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 604,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,055,028.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Edward N. Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $9,433,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 604,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,055,028.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,242,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,528. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% 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.