Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, July 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.65 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.54. 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 Q4 2024 earnings at $1.49 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.48.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $100.12 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.92.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 13,334 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $12,030,000 after purchasing an additional 73,363 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 582,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,624,000 after purchasing an additional 37,889 shares during the period. Finally, Cito Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 58,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,803,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.