Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Reduced by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,684 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. 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 $180.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

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.