Erste Group Bank Weighs in on Morgan Stanley FY2026 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $11.35 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.30. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2027 earnings at $12.35 EPS.

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $196.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $176.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $279.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $97.89 and a 52 week high of $192.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 14.09%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 39.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 21,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $3,966,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 171,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,464,920. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 127,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,598,777.60. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,618,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 429,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,279,000 after purchasing an additional 64,401 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 28,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,995,000 after purchasing an additional 7,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), a spot Bitcoin ETP on NYSE Arca priced with an ultra-low 0.14% fee — the first bank‑affiliated spot Bitcoin product from a major U.S. bank. The fund’s low fee and MS’s advisor network could drive meaningful, durable inflows and incremental fee revenue. Businesswire: MSBT launch
• Positive Sentiment: The MSBT launch gains distribution advantages: Morgan Stanley’s ~16,000 financial advisors and ~$6.2T in client assets create a “captive” channel that analysts and industry commentators say could translate to advisor-directed inflows from day one — a structural advantage versus independent issuers. CoinDesk video/coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Street support: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy this morning, citing wealth‑management strength and profitability — the upgrade adds momentum to the stock amid broader bank‑sector volatility. Positive analyst notes can buoy sentiment into earnings. CNBC: UBS upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is also moving in private credit (planning new funds/interval offerings) to capitalize on market dislocation — this expands fee opportunities but carries execution and fundraising timing risk. Benzinga: private credit fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (mid‑April) and some estimate revisions are in focus — incremental analyst EPS upgrades (Erste) and commentary about momentum set expectations that investors will check next results for the impact of product launches and wealth‑management flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting analyst moves: a few firms trimmed price targets or issued cautious notes (Evercore, BMO, Daiwa) — these mixed research actions create some short‑term target dispersion and could cap upside if macro/headline risk rises. AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO notes

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.