FY2026 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Raised by Analyst

Key Points

• Erste Group raised Morgan Stanley's FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.93 (from $11.35) and reiterated a Buy rating, also forecasting FY2027 EPS of $12.77 versus a $11.80 consensus for the current year.
• Morgan Stanley beat Q1 expectations, reporting $3.43 EPS (vs. $3.02 expected) and $20.58 billion in revenue, with year‑over‑year revenue growth of 16% and solid profitability metrics.
• Corporate actions and ownership: Morgan Stanley declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00, yield ~2.1%), while institutional investors added large stakes (Norges Bank, Vanguard, Price T. Rowe) even as insiders have recently sold shares.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $11.93 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $11.35. Erste Group Bank currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $11.80 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's FY2027 earnings at $12.77 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis.

MS has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $201.89.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $190.19 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $112.03 and a fifty-two week high of $194.59. The stock has a market cap of $300.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $170.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.52.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,648,354,000 after buying an additional 3,364,080 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after buying an additional 1,833,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,444 shares of company stock valued at $20,665,049. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised Morgan Stanley's FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts and reiterated a Buy stance — the firm boosted FY2026 to $11.93 and FY2027 to $12.77, which supports higher valuation expectations and helped lift sentiment. Erste Group raises MS EPS estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group (reported elsewhere) also upgraded MS from Hold to Buy — an outright analyst upgrade reinforces demand from institutional investors. Erste upgrades Morgan Stanley (Finviz link)
• Positive Sentiment: Firm commentary and research out of Morgan Stanley (MarketWatch coverage) is pitching a constructive market backdrop — management/research sees reduced downside risk and ongoing momentum from earnings, capex and AI adoption, which supports investment-banking and wealth-management flows. Why Morgan Stanley sees little possibility of a stock-market retreat
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader sell‑side attention — headlines highlighting Morgan Stanley’s research activity (price‑target updates on other companies) show the firm remains active and visible, which can drive trading volume but is not an immediate earnings signal for MS itself. MS research: price-target actions (example)
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto/ETF timing commentary mentioning major institutional players (including MS) suggests participation in emerging product flows (e.g., Bitcoin ETF space), but analysts warn adoption will take 12–18 months — a medium-term potential revenue lift rather than an immediate catalyst. Bitcoin ETF institutional adoption timeline
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical risk (oil/Strait of Hormuz disruption) increases market volatility — a sudden risk‑off move can pressure trading revenues and short‑term investor sentiment for banks including MS. Investors are watching macro headlines even as bank‑specific news is positive. Oil rises as talks stall — market risk

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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