Morgan Stanley Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.57 Per Share (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the financial services provider will earn $1.57 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.56. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.36 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2024 earnings at $6.60 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.15 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MS. Cfra boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.13.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $90.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.81. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,155 shares of company stock valued at $17,564,394 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,380,000 after acquiring an additional 517,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 575,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.