Zacks Research Boosts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $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.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MS opened at $127.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $205.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.32 and a 200-day moving average of $112.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,498,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,761,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First County Bank CT boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 5,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.