Aviva PLC Purchases 51,182 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 930,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,182 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $131,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth 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. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 29,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 87.1% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 12,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 186.3% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 61,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 39,772 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $162.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $257.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.11 and a 200-day moving average of $142.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $167.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

About Morgan Stanley

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.