Allianz SE Buys Shares of 87,997 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 87,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,066,000.

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

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business'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 transaction 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. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents 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.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.52 on Monday, hitting $116.85. The company had a trading volume of 7,616,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,532,304. The stock has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 $129.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.97. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 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 business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.53.

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.