Multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is rewarding its recently appointed top executives with restricted stock units (RSUs) valued at $20 million each. As per a regulatory filing dated October 27, MS will grant equal one-time bonuses worth $20 million to new CEO Ted Pick, Andy Saperstein, and Dan Simkowitz at the time of the grant with a vesting period of three years. The actual value of these RSUs could increase or decrease materially until 2027, depending on MS’s stock performance.
The three candidates were top choices for replacing outgoing Chief James Gorman. While Pick was picked as CEO, Saperstein will lead the wealth and investment management businesses, and Simkowitz will take over Pick’s earlier role of heading the institutional securities unit. It is a common practice for Wall Street CEO candidates to receive hefty bonuses upon being elected, while the others usually leave the company for better roles elsewhere. However, Morgan Stanley has taken a different route in both retaining the other two candidates and giving them a similar one-time bonus as the elected CEO.
Is MS a Good Stock to Buy?
Wall Street is cautiously optimistic about investment banks amid the deal-making slump and low trading volumes. On TipRanks, MS has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 13 Buys and eight Hold ratings. Also, the average Morgan Stanley price target of $91.53 implies 30% upside potential from current levels. MS stock has lost 15.7% so far this year.
