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

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 32,844 shares valued at about $5.83 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.43 versus the $3.02 consensus and revenue of $20.58 billion, up 16% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has turned more upbeat, with multiple firms raising price targets and Morgan Stanley now carrying a Moderate Buy consensus price target of $206.26.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,746 shares during the quarter. 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.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth $170,037,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,326,000 after purchasing an additional 841,263 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,260,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,267,847,000 after purchasing an additional 822,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 150.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,234,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $196,311,000 after acquiring an additional 741,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $192.99 on Monday. 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's fifty day moving average price is $172.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.64. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $121.46 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting 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

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.

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