Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, April 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.61 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.56. 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 FY2024 earnings at $6.74 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.48 EPS.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,036,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,504,937. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $958,105,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $477,765,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $512,867,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.