Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on MS. CICC Research boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.80.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:MS opened at $215.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.71. The stock has a market cap of $339.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $136.17 and a 12 month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 19.51%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.55 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 679.8% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 42,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,527,000 after buying an additional 36,963 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 965,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,866,000 after acquiring an additional 67,613 shares during the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,260,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 646,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,102,000 after acquiring an additional 65,246 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported blockbuster Q2 2026 results, with record net revenues of about $21.3 billion and earnings that beat expectations, reinforcing confidence in the company’s core businesses. Morgan Stanley (MS) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenues and Strategic Growth …
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, a 15% increase from the prior quarter, which signals confidence in earnings power and capital return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the earnings release, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising its price target to $250 and Erste Group lifting FY2027 EPS estimates, suggesting more upside may remain. Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $225.00 to $250.00
• Neutral Sentiment: New reports also pointed to Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE crypto rollout and AI-related market activity, which could help broaden its platform appeal over time but are not likely the main short-term drivers of the stock move.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles noted a downgrade-style view from Seeking Alpha and a JPMorgan target below the current share price, which may temper enthusiasm at the margin even after the strong earnings beat. Morgan Stanley Maintains Hold on Comstock Resources, Keeps Price Target Unchanged at $16 Amid Cash Outspend and Funding Concerns

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

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.