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

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.1%, selling 151,410 shares during the second quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 2.84 million shares valued at $399.97 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported $2.80 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.07, and its revenue was up 18.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, scheduled for payment on November 14th, representing a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 41.03%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,839,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 151,410 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Morgan Stanley worth $399,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $161.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $154.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.43. The stock has a market cap of $257.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.23.

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.

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