Allianz SE Invests $11.07 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Allianz SE bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 87,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,066,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced 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, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $115.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

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.