Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on February 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on January 24th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CHASE BROKERAGE ACCOUNT (3935)” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) on 1/28/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) on 1/27/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 1/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 1/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) on 1/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) on 1/17/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

MS stock opened at $139.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.41 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

About Morgan Stanley

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.