Analysts Issue Forecasts for Morgan Stanley FY2025 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, July 8th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $8.75 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.70. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's FY2026 earnings at $9.70 EPS.

MS has been the topic of several other research reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.54.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $141.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market capitalization of $226.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by 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.

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