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 Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2%

MS stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.00. 8,960,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,037,536. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $192.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $176.28 and its 200-day moving average is $160.64. The company has a market cap of $290.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on 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, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Powers Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 3,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of four lead banks on a potential blockbuster SpaceX IPO — a high‑profile mandate that would generate sizable underwriting and advisory fees and reinforce MS’s standing in tech/A&D deal origination. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent Q4 results (announced Jan. 15) beat estimates on both EPS and revenue, with revenue up ~10% year‑over‑year — supporting consensus that MS can grow fee income and maintain healthy margins into 2026. Earnings / Market Data
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and deal involvement: Morgan Stanley is publicly tied to underwriting and coverage wins (e.g., backing smaller biotech deals and SMID‑cap biotech coverage), which points to ongoing investment‑banking and capital‑markets activity that supports revenue visibility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley research is raising macro themes (e.g., U.S. policy and potential de‑dollarisation) that may shape markets and cross‑border flows but don’t directly change MS’s near‑term fundamentals. Investors should monitor how macro shifts affect capital markets activity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional moves: filings show Morgan Stanley trimming or changing stakes in select smaller names (e.g., ceasing to be a substantial holder in a mining issuer). These are routine portfolio actions for the firm’s asset‑management/institutional desks and have limited direct impact on MS stock. Article Title

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.