Zacks Research Raises Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its Q3 2025 earnings per share estimate for Morgan Stanley to $1.96, up from $1.95, with a full-year estimate of $8.56 per share.
• Multiple analysts have increased their target prices for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs raising theirs to $136.00 and Wells Fargo to $165.00.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share and approved a $20 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Friday, September 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.96 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.95. 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 FY2025 earnings at $8.72 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.36 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.30 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $2.39 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MS opened at $159.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $161.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the second quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 13,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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