Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Morgan Stanley’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, July 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $1.59 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.57. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.80 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2024 earnings at $6.75 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.81 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.74 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.40 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS.

MS has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.48.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $100.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $162.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 13,334 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 22.7% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $521,000. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 33.5% during the third quarter. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC now owns 333,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,251,000 after purchasing an additional 83,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 99.2% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 147,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,030,000 after purchasing an additional 73,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now 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 this hyperlink. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.