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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Michael Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MS traded down $0.32 on Thursday, hitting $183.00. 8,960,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,037,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $290.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $176.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.93.

About Morgan Stanley

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.