FY2024 EPS Estimate for Morgan Stanley Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $7.43 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $7.35. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.05 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.10 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $4.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $123.41. 6,844,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,881,951. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $128.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $136.24.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 7,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,530,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid 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 yield of 3.00%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

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.