Rep. Val T. Hoyle Sells Off Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Representative Val T. Hoyle (D-Oregon) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on October 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on September 23rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FIDELITY ROLLOVER IRA” account.

Representative Val T. Hoyle also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Pentair (NYSE:PNR) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Heico (NYSE:HEI.A) on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Target (NYSE:TGT) on 9/23/2025.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.79. The firm has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.4% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 33.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.0% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 373.6% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 14,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 11,338 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Hoyle

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Hoyle (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Val Hoyle was born in California and lives in Springfield, Oregon. Hoyle graduated from Merrimack High School. She earned a B.A. in political science from Emmanuel College in 1992. Her career experience includes working as a director at United Way of Lane County, a policy fellow at Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and a commissioner at the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Hoyle has also worked in domestic and international sales, as well as manufacturing distribution.

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.