Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for Morgan Stanley (MS)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 3/25/2025 – Morgan Stanley had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $124.00 to $129.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/24/2025 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $135.00 to $125.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/19/2025 – Morgan Stanley had its price target lowered by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $144.00 to $126.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 3/17/2025 – Morgan Stanley was downgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank AG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.17. The company had a trading volume of 5,081,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,217,631. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $324,118,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.