Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 754,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,840 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.3% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $87,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24,340.5% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 282,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,906,000 after acquiring an additional 280,889 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 184.3% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,181 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 26,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 12,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $130.53. The company had a trading volume of 6,185,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,676,479. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $118.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.32. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $209.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.