Morgan Stanley to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.57 Per Share, Seaport Res Ptn Forecasts (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Seaport Res Ptn lifted their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $1.57 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.56. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.53 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2024 earnings at $6.60 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.15 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.90.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $90.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,674,000 after buying an additional 1,865,645 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,380,000 after buying an additional 517,446 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,883,392,000 after buying an additional 575,114 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.