Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on September 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on August 14th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “CHASE BROKERAGE ACCOUNT (3935)” account.

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

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dover (NYSE:DOV) on 8/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 8/14/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $159.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $254.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $160.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,779,734,000 after buying an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,045,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,005,000 after purchasing an additional 749,150 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.92.

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.