Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Lifted by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,477 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,755,000 after purchasing an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 112,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,758,000 after purchasing an additional 10,107 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 73,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,491,000 after buying an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $212.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $84.43 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% 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.