Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $8.38 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,230 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.27. The company has a market capitalization of $180.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G 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.

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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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