iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $8.79 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2,754.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,490 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $120.49 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. 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 $130.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.69. The firm has a market cap of $194.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.60.

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.