Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $7.22 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,841 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $137.78 on Monday. 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 has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $138.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.05 and a 200-day moving average of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 56.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.40.

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.