Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Andrew Saperstein Sells 30,330 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Andrew Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,501,921.22. This trade represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $176.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.79. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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)

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.