Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of MS opened at $115.41 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.