Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Wednesday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $1.93 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.90. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $124.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $199.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.61 and its 200 day moving average is $112.83. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.