Q1 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Lifted by Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $2.20 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.19. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

MS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $125.25 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.