Rep. Ritchie Torres Sells Off Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Representative Ritchie Torres (D-New York) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on August 20th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on July 11th.

Representative Ritchie Torres also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE:ELS) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of MetLife (NYSE:MET) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) on 7/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) on 7/11/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $147.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.96. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $149.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,142 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,387,005,000 after buying an additional 749,150 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $2,234,883,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

About Representative Torres

Ritchie Torres (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New York’s 15th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2021. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Torres (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New York’s 15th Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Ritchie Torres lives in the Bronx, New York.

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.