Morgan Stanley to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.61 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NYSE:MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.61 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.56. 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 FY2024 earnings at $6.74 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.48 EPS.

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $93.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day moving average of $85.76.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $13,874,000 after acquiring an additional 16,267 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 29,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 8,226 shares in the last quarter. 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.