Seaport Res Ptn Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn dropped their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.57. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.53 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.92. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.