Brokers Issue Forecasts for Morgan Stanley FY2025 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn issued their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a report released on Monday, October 20th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $10.03 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share.

MS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $157.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $154.09 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 7,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 83,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 252,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,139,000 after purchasing an additional 15,175 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,003.1% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 29,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after purchasing an additional 26,914 shares during the period. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 177.1% during the third quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.