Morgan Stanley FY2024 EPS Estimate Lifted by Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $7.23 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $7.19. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.51 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.97 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.87 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.22 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.95 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.17 EPS.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.5 %

MS opened at $123.41 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $136.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $128.45 and a 200-day moving average of $112.52. The stock has a market cap of $198.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.