Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Off Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on May 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on April 7th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH LONG TERM GROWTH” account.

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

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) on 4/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/15/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/11/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 4/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) on 4/7/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $132.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.21. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $211.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $767,506,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

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.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.