Q1 2025 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Raised by Seaport Res Ptn (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Thursday, October 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $2.10 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.08. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.03 per share.

MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $107.88 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.94. The company has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MS. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,207,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,083,000 after purchasing an additional 32,152 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 96,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,595,000 after acquiring an additional 8,814 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6,565.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 185,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,324,000 after acquiring an additional 182,990 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.