Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,502 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mason & Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $322,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 113,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,808,000 after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Tanager Wealth Management LLP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $119.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $193.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $121.45.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

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.