Q2 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Reduced by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Seaport Res Ptn lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Tuesday, July 8th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.96 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.06. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q3 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.57 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.41 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.36 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.36 EPS.

MS has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $143.06. 5,622,839 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,692,254. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $145.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $229.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 21,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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.