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

Posted by Defense World Staff 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $136.96 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.69 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.07. The company has a market cap of $220.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

View Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

About Morgan Stanley

(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.