Seaport Res Ptn Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst J. Mitchell now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.18 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.28. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.03 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.40 EPS.

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $100.03 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $161.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.