Morgan Stanley Forecasted to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.54 Per Share (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.57. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.77 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.