DnB Asset Management AS Has $115.54 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 919,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,982 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $115,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MS traded up $1.52 on Monday, reaching $116.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,755,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,532,293. The firm has a market cap of $188.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.97. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during 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%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business's 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 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.53.

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.