Morgan Stanley Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.62 Per Share (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note issued on Tuesday, April 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.62 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.60. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $6.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.77 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MS. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $92.65. 4,439,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,545,672. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market cap of $150.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.76. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,284,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,645 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,888,380,000 after acquiring an additional 517,446 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,883,392,000 after purchasing an additional 575,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

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.