AGF Management Ltd. Has $26.45 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,684 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2,382.4% in the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 416,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,419,000 after buying an additional 400,151 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 55,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,917,000 after buying an additional 9,876 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Hudson Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 6,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $180.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.01 and its 200 day moving average is $122.27.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’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 value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

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.