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

Posted by Michael Walen on Feb 14th, 2025

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In a filing disclosed on February 12th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on January 24th. 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 Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) on 1/28/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 1/28/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) on 1/28/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) on 1/28/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) on 1/27/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 1/24/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 1/24/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) on 1/24/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) on 1/17/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) on 1/17/2025.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.82. 2,351,471 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,580,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.20. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $84.41 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 32,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,794,000 after buying an additional 6,093 shares during the period. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 137.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 580,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,037,000 after purchasing an additional 336,179 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Morgan Stanley

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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

(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.