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

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.57 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.56. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.36 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2024 earnings at $6.60 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.15 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MS. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MS opened at $90.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,155 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,094 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.