Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $1.62 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.62 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.60. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $6.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.00 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.77 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm 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%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $93.64 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.76. 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 company has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 18,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 169,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,874,000 after buying an additional 16,267 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 7,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.