Seaport Res Ptn Lifts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, April 13th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $2.06 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.02. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.07 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.43 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.06. The stock had a trading volume of 5,231,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,655,480. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.31. 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 has a 1-year low of $90.36 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,665 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,079. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 31,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.1% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,761,000 after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $802,000. 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.