Morgan Stanley (MS) stock rose around 2% Wednesday morning after the global investment bank reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year for 2021.
The company reported net revenues of $14.5 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 compared with $13.6 billion a year ago.
Net income came in at $3.7 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared to $3.4 billion, or $1.81 per diluted share for fourth quarter of 2020.
Full year net revenues also jumped, coming in at $59.8 billion compared with $48.8 billion a year ago.
Wealth Management Growth
James P. Gorman, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, praised the company's "outstanding year" and lauded its record net revenues of $60 billion and ROTCE of 20%.
The company's Wealth Management sector was one of the primary drivers of its revenue increase.
According to Gorman, the segment, "grew client assets by nearly $1 trillion to $4.9 trillion this year, with $438 billion in net new assets."
Overall, Wealth Management reported revenues of $6.3 billion for the fourth quarter - a whopping $600 million revenue increase from the $5.7 billion figure a year ago.
Morgan Stanley attributed the higher asset management revenues to higher asset levels driven by market appreciation and strong positive fee-based flows.
Investment Management
Morgan Stanley's Investment Management division also showed massive growth from the fourth quarter of 2020.
The segment reported net revenues of $1.8 billion compared with $1.1 billion a year ago. Pre-tax income was $508 million compared with $196 million a year ago.
The revenue increases were chalked up to a lucrative Eaton Vance acquisition, higher performance fees, and higher average AUM.
Dividend
In addition to other announcement, Morgan Stanley's Board of Directors declared a $0.70 quarterly dividend per share, payable on February 15, 2022 to common shareholders of record on January 31, 2022.
