Andrew Saperstein Sells 30,330 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Andrew Saperstein sold 30,330 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total value of $5,569,194.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 280,481 shares in the company, valued at $51,501,921.22. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $179.02 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $176.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was named one of the lead banks on the highly visible SpaceX IPO, which should generate sizable investment‑banking fees and boost confidence in MS’s deal pipeline. Elon Musk’s SpaceX lines up 4 banks for blockbuster IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 fundamentals remain supportive — MS recently beat on EPS and revenue, announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend (ex‑div Jan 30), and has strong ROE metrics cited by analysts; those fundamentals underpin longer‑term investor support. Morgan Stanley stock page / Q4 results & dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Wealth Management staff publicly urged clients not to panic‑sell, messaging designed to stabilize flows and sentiment among retail/wealth clients. That communication can help limit outflows and calm short‑term volatility. ‘Don’t Get Off the Rodeo Bull’: Morgan Stanley Warns Investors Not to Panic Sell
• Neutral Sentiment: Research action from MS — the firm cut Oracle’s target ~30% citing AI infra concerns. This is a research call on a large tech name (shows MS positioning/opinion) but is not a direct company fundamental change for MS itself. Oracle target cut by Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior Morgan Stanley insiders filed Form 4s this week (large sales by executives including Michael Pizzi, Andrew Saperstein, Eric Grossman, Sharon Yeshaya and others). Concentrated insider selling can add short‑term supply and raise investor caution. Insider sale SEC filing (example)

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.