FY2026 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Reduced by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley in a report released on Friday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the financial services provider will earn $11.97 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $12.00. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $11.85 per share.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. CICC Research upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $212.74 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $128.81 and a twelve month high of $219.16. The company has a market cap of $335.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $192.77 and its 200 day moving average is $180.61.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,354,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364,080 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $511,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in recent coverage as a key beneficiary of a likely IPO boom, especially from AI-related deals, which could lift underwriting, trading, and advisory revenues. Barrons article on AI IPO boom
• Positive Sentiment: Management is also signaling continued growth ambitions in wealth management, with CEO Ted Pick saying Morgan Stanley wants to build a much larger wealth platform, which supports the long-term earnings story. Yahoo Finance article on wealth management goals
• Positive Sentiment: Another note said Morgan Stanley expanded AI access across its workplace wealth hub, a move that could deepen client engagement and improve the firm’s digital wealth-management offering. Zacks article on AI access expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $11.97, above the current consensus of $11.85, reinforcing expectations for solid earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mike Wilson’s latest comments on inflation and the Fed were shared in Barron’s, but they were commentary rather than a direct catalyst for Morgan Stanley shares. Barrons article on Mike Wilson macro views

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.