Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

18 Sep 2025, 15:58 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $165.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley traded as high as $158.48 and last traded at $156.60, with a volume of 4829891 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $156.39.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.92.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $27,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $146.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a market cap of $251.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Morgan Stanley

(Get Free Report)