Erste Group Bank Predicts Morgan Stanley FY2026 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $11.35 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.30. Erste Group Bank has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s current full-year earnings is $8.56 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Morgan Stanley’s FY2027 earnings at $12.35 EPS.

MS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $177.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE MS opened at $168.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $266.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $97.89 and a one year high of $192.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.53.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.18%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.77, for a total transaction of $2,942,225.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 135,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,135,424.08. This represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.55, for a total transaction of $3,691,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 127,872 shares in the company, valued at $23,598,777.60. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 103,854,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,437,334,000 after purchasing an additional 539,544 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) is set to launch on NYSE Arca on April 8 with an ultra?low 0.14% fee — the bank becomes the first major U.S. commercial bank to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF, which could attract substantial AUM, boost fee revenue and lift the firm’s asset?management profile. Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Set for NYSE Debut This Wednesday
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded MS to a Buy and set a $196 price target, citing profitability and wealth?management positioning — that upgrade is a near?term bullish catalyst for investor sentiment. Morgan Stanley Upgraded to Buy by UBS
• Positive Sentiment: Street notes (Jefferies) expect MS to benefit from a trading?volume surge and steady dealmaking — this supports expectations for a strong Q1 trading/markets quarter and underpins earnings momentum. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seen riding trading boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is launching private?credit vehicles (an interval fund and a new fund aimed at dislocated private credit) and has Direct Lending updates — these product launches could grow fee income over time but also expose the bank to private?credit liquidity risk in the near term. Morgan Stanley Capitalizes On Private Credit Dislocation With New Fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Direct Lending set a Q1 results call — a signal investors should watch for fund performance and potential fee/AUM disclosures that could influence near?term revenue guidance. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Sets Q1 2026 Results Call
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed Morgan Stanley price targets (Evercore and BMO to $190; Daiwa lowered to $175) even as Goldman raised its PT to $186 — the cluster of mixed target moves creates short?term headwinds and could cap upside while the market digests the ETF launch and Q1 outlook. Evercore Lowers Morgan Stanley Price Target to $190

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.