Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion.

Several other research firms have also commented on MS. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $123.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.42. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $824,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.5% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,408,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,932,000 after acquiring an additional 192,027 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,943,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 175.0% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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.