Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 36,551 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,931,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,551 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.18% of Morgan Stanley worth $276,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $100.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market capitalization of $162.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.87 and its 200 day moving average is $91.92. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.48.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.