Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $107.38 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 854,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 116,754 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $107,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $1.52 during trading on Monday, reaching $116.85. 7,616,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,532,304. The company has a market capitalization of $188.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.97. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week 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 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 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 earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.