Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Eric Grossman Sells 21,555 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Eric Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,464,920. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $183.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $176.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 39.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was selected as one of the lead banks for the anticipated SpaceX IPO — a high‑visibility mandate that can generate significant fees and bolster investment-banking sentiment for MS. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly banking context: the “Big Six” U.S. banks delivered strong bottom‑line Q4 results and Morgan Stanley was cited as an exception to the broader post‑earnings bank selloff — supporting investor confidence in MS’s earnings trajectory and ROE. Bank Stocks: Another Quarter of Double-Digit S&P 500 Earnings Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research flagged geopolitical and policy risks (U.S. policy and Trump-era trade/debt positions) that could influence dollar dominance and macro flows — useful for positioning but not an immediate stock catalyst. Trump policies put dollar dominance under fresh global scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider stock sales at Morgan Stanley were disclosed this week — multiple senior executives filed Form 4s selling sizable blocks (examples include Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can increase near‑term selling pressure and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (Michael A. Pizzi)

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 42,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,928,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,770,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.