FY2027 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Increased by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $12.80 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.77. Erste Group Bank has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $11.85 per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.17.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6%

MS stock opened at $190.33 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $119.99 and a twelve month high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The company has a market cap of $300.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MS. MWA Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 15,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is piloting crypto trading on its E*Trade platform (initial rollout to a subset of clients) charging ~50 bps — well below major competitors. That expands retail distribution to ~8.6M E*Trade accounts and could drive trading revenue and asset‑gathering if scaled. Morgan Stanley Pilots Crypto Trading
• Positive Sentiment: Major brokers raised their fair value on MS: UBS bumped Morgan Stanley’s price target to $214 and Daiwa raised its PT to $198 — signals that sell‑side views on MS’s earnings/valuation remain constructive after its strong results earlier this year. UBS Adjusts MS Price Target Daiwa Increases MS PT
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s direct‑lending vehicle reported solid NII and declared a quarterly cash distribution — a positive for MS’s asset management and fee‑income franchises (and a sign of steady private credit demand). Direct Lending Fund NII Beats
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley published a founder survey showing entrepreneurs juggling growth, capital and liquidity tradeoffs — useful research for institutional clients but not immediately earnings‑material. MS Founder Survey
• Neutral Sentiment: MS economists trimmed the U.S. growth forecast citing higher gas prices; that softens the macro backdrop for deal activity and consumer wealth but is a broader market theme rather than a firm‑specific shock. MS Lowers US Growth Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo hired a ~$1.5B wealth team away from Morgan Stanley — a modest AUM loss that highlights ongoing competition for private client teams and could pressure near‑term wealth flows in the region. Wells Fargo Hires $1.5B Team From MS
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s low crypto fees could trigger a fee war across brokerages; while good for customer acquisition, it risks compressing trading margins if competitors follow. See coverage on pricing and competitive dynamics. MS Undercuts Rivals on Crypto Fees

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.