Erste Group Bank Predicts Morgan Stanley FY2027 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $12.88 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.80. Erste Group Bank has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $11.98 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Dbs Bank upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.55.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $218.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $136.17 and a one year high of $232.25. The firm has a market cap of $344.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley delivered record Q2 revenue and profit, with earnings and sales beating expectations by a wide margin, which is driving bullish investor reaction.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm’s wealth management and institutional businesses showed strong momentum, including record client assets and robust trading/dealmaking activity, signaling healthy core growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its quarterly dividend 15% to $1.15 per share, a shareholder-friendly move that can support sentiment around capital strength and cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated or raised price targets after the earnings release, suggesting the results may help reset expectations, though the stock had already been trading near recent highs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also completed its E*TRADE spot crypto rollout, expanding its retail platform offering, but this looks more like a strategic long-term growth initiative than the main driver today.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.