Brokers Issue Forecasts for Morgan Stanley’s FY2023 Earnings (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2023 earnings per share estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Tuesday, September 12th. Zacks Research analyst N. Kataruka now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $5.65 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $5.70. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $5.83 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Atlantic Securities raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $89.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $74.67 and a 52 week high of $100.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MS. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 3,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 15,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Capital Management increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the second quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 6,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 4,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the second quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $11,543,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,941,460.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 13,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,242,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,984 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,528. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $11,543,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,136,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,941,460.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 30th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.