Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Forecasted to Earn Q1 2025 Earnings of $1.95 Per Share

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Tuesday, June 18th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.95 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.93. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q1 2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.85 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cfra increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $97.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $158.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.00. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,060,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the first quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 25,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Tactive Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $254,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 5,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,151,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,969,000 after purchasing an additional 57,104 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

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.