Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, December 10th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.90 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.91. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%.

MS has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $127.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given 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 2.90%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,850,000. 84.19% of the stock is 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.