Zacks Research Predicts Stronger Earnings for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $1.46 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.45. 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS.

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

Several other analysts have also commented on MS. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $134.21. 3,834,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,061,037. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $135.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $115.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,621,140,000 after acquiring an additional 269,633 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,251,387,000 after buying an additional 303,654 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,029,970,000 after buying an additional 212,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $858,573,000 after acquiring an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.