Zacks Research Raises Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.20 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.19. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MS. Bank of America boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $124.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $200.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.31. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.