Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Given New $195.00 Price Target at BNP Paribas

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target raised by BNP Paribas from $170.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

MS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $2.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.17. The company had a trading volume of 8,365,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,624,669. The firm has a market capitalization of $300.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: MS reported $2.68 EPS (above consensus) with net income and operating profit up year‑over‑year, driven by wealth management and a rebound in investment banking. Morgan Stanley Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase / cash return: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, a signal of confidence and an income tailwind for yield‑sensitive holders. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price‑target lifts: Several firms (including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods) raised their targets/ratings after the print, which can underpin longer‑term upside. Analyst Price Target Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Morgan Stanley benefits from a hot IPO/dealmaking environment and wealth‑management flows — management flagged a strong pipeline for 2026 but that outlook is already being priced in. Pipeline Comment
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakness: The quarter showed a material swing to negative operating cash flow (cited ~-$3.3B), raising questions about short‑term cash dynamics despite large liquidity buffers. Cash Flow Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple senior executives have sold shares in recent months which can signal management cash‑outs and adds to near‑term selling pressure. Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue vs. expectations and “sell the news”: Revenue slightly missed some consensus figures; combined with investors taking profits after the post‑earnings pop, this explains downward pressure today. Revenue & Market Reaction

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.