Zacks Research Expects Stronger Earnings for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 6th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.01 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.98. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.15 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.84 EPS.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.24.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.53 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.42. The company has a market cap of $208.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $73.96 and a fifty-two week high of $133.52.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 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.