Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by DNB Asset Management AS

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 500,795 shares and leaving it with 289,358 shares worth about $51.4 million.
• Several insiders also sold stock recently, including Andrew M. Saperstein and Eric F. Grossman, and insiders have sold 77,476 shares over the past three months.
• Analysts remain generally positive on MS: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $206.26, while the company also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

DNB Asset Management AS lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 500,795 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $51,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.26.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:MS opened at $192.51 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $123.88 and a 52 week high of $197.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.54 and a 200-day moving average of $174.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.