Rep. Bruce Westerman Purchases Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Posted by Kim Johansen on Apr 19th, 2025

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on March 3rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) on 4/2/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) on 3/24/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) on 3/21/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BP (NYSE:BP) on 3/21/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 3/20/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 3/20/2025.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.36 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MS

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.