Allianz SE Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 87,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,066,000.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $3.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.59. 4,144,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,537,218. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.13.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.