Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,841 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third 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 lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,029,970,000 after buying an additional 212,551 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the third 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 valued at $881,263,000 after buying an additional 385,780 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third 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. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

MS traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $137.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,389,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $138.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $129.05 and its 200-day moving average is $113.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.40.

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.