Zacks Research Boosts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $7.18 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.17. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.32 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q1 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.77 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.97 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%.

MS has been the subject of a number of other reports. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MS opened at $134.69 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $135.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 33,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.