Zacks Research Predicts Stronger Earnings for Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Zacks Research increased its earnings per share estimate for Morgan Stanley for FY2025 from $8.42 to $8.71, exceeding the current consensus estimate of $8.56.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported $2.13 EPS for the previous quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.15, with revenue of $16.79 billion.
• The company announced a stock repurchase plan authorizing up to $20 billion in buybacks, indicating management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $8.71 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $8.42. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley's current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley's Q1 2026 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.56 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.84 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $141.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.68 and a 200-day moving average of $128.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $92.01 and a 12 month high of $145.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 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.

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