Seaport Res Ptn Comments on Morgan Stanley’s Q1 2025 Earnings (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the financial services provider will earn $2.10 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.08. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.03 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $107.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.31 and its 200-day moving average is $97.87.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.