FY2026 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Increased by Analyst

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $12.00 from $11.93, and kept a Buy rating on the stock. The new forecast is slightly above the consensus estimate of $11.85 per share.
• Morgan Stanley’s latest quarterly results were better than expected, with EPS of $3.43 versus $3.02 expected and revenue of $20.58 billion versus $19.23 billion expected. Revenue also rose 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $206.26. Shares were trading around $192.51, near the upper end of their 52-week range.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $12.00 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $11.93. Erste Group Bank has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $11.85 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Dbs Bank increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.26.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $192.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.97. The firm has a market cap of $303.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $123.88 and a twelve month high of $197.50.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent commentary continues to sound constructive on markets, including a bullish call that the S&P 500 could reach 8,300 and a view that AI-related capital spending is supporting the U.S. economy. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank has also been raising or adjusting price targets on several companies tied to growth themes, reinforcing its credibility as a bullish market voice. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also on Morgan Stanley’s own stock after a recent earnings beat and strong results, with a Zacks note asking why MS has risen since its last report. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a report highlighting Morgan Stanley’s midyear economic outlook, which emphasized “capex over consumption” and suggests the firm sees a mixed but resilient macro backdrop. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment is being weighed by rate and inflation concerns, with higher oil prices and a risk-off tone pressuring equities broadly — a backdrop that can hit financial stocks like MS even when fundamentals remain solid.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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