Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Eric Grossman Sells 11,118 Shares

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Eric Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $190.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.10. The company has a market cap of $301.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $104.78 and a 12-month high of $194.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.8 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after purchasing an additional 8,512 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6,448 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,273,000 after buying an additional 9,056 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 22,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 11,311 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after buying an additional 39,104 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on MS to $225 and reiterated a Buy, citing management messaging and business momentum — this boosts analyst-driven demand. BofA Lifts PT on Morgan Stanley (MS) to $225 From $220
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital raised its MS price target to $220 and maintained an Outperform — another institutional endorsement that likely attracted buyers. BMO Capital adjusts PT on Morgan Stanley to 220
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s new spot Bitcoin ETF continues to see inflows (MSBT ~ $71M in the latest weekly flows), which helps fee and asset-gathering narratives for the bank’s wealth/asset-management business. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add $996M as Flows Near Record High
• Neutral Sentiment: MS analysts remain active — the firm has been initiating/adjusting coverage on large names (e.g., T‑Mobile, Verizon, AT&T) and raising targets across sectors. That highlights the strength of MS’s research franchise (positive for fee-based business over time, but not an immediate earnings driver). Morgan Stanley Assumes Coverage of T-Mobile US (TMUS)
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum indicators and media coverage note MS has been a top-performing financial stock recently (recent writeups highlight a multi-day/week gain), which can attract momentum and ETF flows into the name. Morgan Stanley (MS) Is Up 6.29% in One Week: What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling flagged today: Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares (~$2.1M). Insider sales can sap near-term sentiment even if driven by personal liquidity needs. Eric F. Grossman Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Additional SEC-filed insider sales were reported (multi-million-dollar disposals covered by AmericanBankingNews), which some investors may view as a cautionary signal. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells $9,744,068.12 in Stock Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells $2,779,935.60 in Stock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.33.

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.