Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Releases Earnings Results

Key Points

• Earnings beat: Morgan Stanley reported Q EPS of $3.43 vs. consensus $2.95 (beat by $0.48), with revenue up 16% year‑over‑year, a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.
• Dividend maintained: the firm paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (annualized $4.00), implying a 2.2% yield and a payout ratio of 39.18% (ex‑dividend Jan. 30).
• Insider selling and mixed sentiment: insiders sold 129,191 shares (~$23.7M) over the last three months and now own just 0.17% of the stock, while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of about $189.94.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.48, RTT News reports. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%

MS stock opened at $183.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.22. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $104.78 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $289.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 357,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total value of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 127,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Street expects a strong Q1 for Morgan Stanley as investors anticipate robust investment-banking and trading revenue consistent with results at peers — a direct catalyst ahead of MS’s earnings release. Morgan Stanley is set to report first-quarter earnings — here's what the Street expects
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s equity strategy team (Michael Wilson) says the S&P’s correction is likely “largely over,” a bullish market view that supports banks via better deal flow and trading conditions. Morgan Stanley has a blunt message on S&P 500
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) and buy-the-dip notes from major brokerages — including Morgan Stanley itself urging dip-buying — boost investor sentiment into bank earnings week. Jim Cramer on Morgan Stanley: “This Investment Bank Should Have a Fabulous 2026”
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s research bench remains active and visible (e.g., publishing top-picks and sector updates), which supports the franchise reputation but has an indirect effect on MS equity moves. Morgan Stanley Calls These 2 Stocks ‘Top Picks’ for 2026 – Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst actions by Morgan Stanley (raising price targets or updating coverage on other firms) underline the firm’s research/IB flow but are only second‑order drivers for MS stock itself. Morgan Stanley Raises Enterprise Products (EPD) Target in Midstream Sector Update
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk (Iran-related tensions) is keeping futures muted and could reduce near-term trading/IB activity if market volatility spikes — a potential headwind even as investors currently appear willing to “look through” the noise. Dow futures muted as Iran tensions loom: 5 things to know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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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