Rep. Val T. Hoyle Sells Off Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Representative Val T. Hoyle sold shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) worth between $1,001 and $15,000 in a transaction dated September 23rd, as disclosed in a filing on October 10th.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $16.79 billion, up 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, reflecting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Representative Val T. Hoyle (D-Oregon) recently sold shares of Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS. In a filing disclosed on October 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Morgan Stanley stock on September 23rd. The trade occurred in the Representative's "FIDELITY ROLLOVER IRA" account.

Representative Val T. Hoyle also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Marriott International NASDAQ: MAR on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Transdigm Group NYSE: TDG on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of H&R Block NYSE: HRB on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of NIKE NYSE: NKE on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Bank of New York Mellon NYSE: BK on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Cisco Systems NASDAQ: CSCO on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Capital One Financial NYSE: COF on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Pentair NYSE: PNR on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Heico NYSE: HEI.A on 9/23/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Target NYSE: TGT on 9/23/2025.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $152.07 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $163.98. 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 firm has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.61 and a 200-day moving average of $135.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.85.

About Representative Hoyle

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oregon's 4th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Hoyle (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 4th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Val Hoyle was born in California and lives in Springfield, Oregon. Hoyle graduated from Merrimack High School. She earned a B.A. in political science from Emmanuel College in 1992. Her career experience includes working as a director at United Way of Lane County, a policy fellow at Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and a commissioner at the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. Hoyle has also worked in domestic and international sales, as well as manufacturing distribution.

About Morgan Stanley

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.

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