FY2024 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $7.43 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.35. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.05 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.10 EPS.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $127.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $128.32 and a 200-day moving average of $112.24. 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 $83.09 and a 1-year high of $136.24.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.