Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 689,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,170 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.1% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $86,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after acquiring an additional 269,633 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,970,000 after purchasing an additional 212,551 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,263,000 after purchasing an additional 385,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.87. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $139.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.