Assetmark Inc. Sells 61,129 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Assetmark Inc. trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,129 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $23,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,661,000 after buying an additional 1,051,189 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,761,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.12. 8,511,909 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,251,202. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.56 and a 200 day moving average of $121.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $192.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.