FY2024 EPS Estimate for Morgan Stanley Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 EPS estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $7.18 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $7.17. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $7.32 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q1 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.77 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.97 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MS. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $131.69 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $114.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.68. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $135.51. The stock has a market cap of $212.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $2,660,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 115.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 223,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,305,000 after buying an additional 119,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $87,558,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.