Morgan Stanley FY2024 EPS Forecast Lifted by Seaport Res Ptn

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $7.43 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.35. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.04 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.05 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.10 EPS.

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $127.83 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $136.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.24. The firm has a market cap of $205.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,621,140,000 after buying an additional 269,633 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,597,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,970,000 after buying an additional 212,551 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $858,573,000 after acquiring an additional 242,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,263,000 after acquiring an additional 385,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.32%.

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.