Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,542,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139,926 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $418,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,736,648,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $250 from $225 and kept a Buy rating, signaling more upside as the firm heads into earnings season. Benzinga coverage of Morgan Stanley target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also lifted its target to $255 and reiterated a Buy rating, adding to bullish analyst sentiment ahead of the company’s July 15 Q2 report. Benzinga coverage of UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s view that large-cap tech could rally again, which may be helping the broader “risk-on” tone around financial markets and Morgan Stanley shares. TipRanks article on Morgan Stanley Mag 7 call
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s own upcoming earnings release, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth already baked into forecasts, which can keep the stock active but not necessarily directional by itself. Benzinga earnings preview for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, recent commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s continued shift of client assets toward adviser-led wealth management, a longer-term strategic positive but not a near-term catalyst. 247WallSt article on Morgan Stanley wealth management shift

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $218.20 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $135.26 and a 1 year high of $230.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.70. The company has a market capitalization of $344.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.