Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Michael Pizzi Sells 20,000 Shares

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Michael Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MS stock opened at $183.00 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $192.68. The firm 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $176.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.79.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 38,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,809,000 after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 216.3% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 5,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 3,962 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.3% in the 4th 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. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

Key Morgan Stanley News

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.