Aviva PLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Aviva PLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 756,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,890 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $95,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 7.6 %

NYSE MS opened at $99.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $127.06 and a 200-day moving average of $124.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.87.

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.