Morgan Stanley Q4 EPS Estimate Lifted by Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report released on Wednesday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.93 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.90. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share.

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.07.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MS opened at $124.03 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $136.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.61 and its 200 day moving average is $112.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.