Charles Smith Sells 8,500 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Charles Smith sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total transaction of $1,547,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.32 on Thursday, hitting $183.00. 8,960,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,037,536. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.20. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $192.68. 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 50 day moving average is $176.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.64.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $2,234,883,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,544 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

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.