Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $5.83 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,746 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $192.99 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $121.46 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.76 and a 200-day moving average of $173.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.26.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DBS Bank raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $220 from $185, signaling more upside potential. DBS Bank price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley, while keeping a Buy rating, reinforcing confidence in longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also increased its Morgan Stanley price target to $214 from $196, adding to the wave of bullish revisions. UBS price target update

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.