FY2026 EPS Estimates for Morgan Stanley Reduced by Analyst

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $11.97 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $12.00. Erste Group Bank has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $11.85 per share.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $212.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $192.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.61. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $128.81 and a 52-week high of $219.16. The firm has a market cap of $335.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,281,000 after buying an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after acquiring an additional 6,448 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 679.8% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 50,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,804 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. The trade was a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in recent coverage as a key beneficiary of a likely IPO boom, especially from AI-related deals, which could lift underwriting, trading, and advisory revenues. Barrons article on AI IPO boom
• Positive Sentiment: Management is also signaling continued growth ambitions in wealth management, with CEO Ted Pick saying Morgan Stanley wants to build a much larger wealth platform, which supports the long-term earnings story. Yahoo Finance article on wealth management goals
• Positive Sentiment: Another note said Morgan Stanley expanded AI access across its workplace wealth hub, a move that could deepen client engagement and improve the firm’s digital wealth-management offering. Zacks article on AI access expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group slightly raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Morgan Stanley to $11.97, above the current consensus of $11.85, reinforcing expectations for solid earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mike Wilson’s latest comments on inflation and the Fed were shared in Barron’s, but they were commentary rather than a direct catalyst for Morgan Stanley shares. Barrons article on Mike Wilson macro views

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.