Dbs Bank Issues Positive Forecast for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target upped by Dbs Bank from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,MarketScreener reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.00.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MS traded up $2.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $192.51. 1,052,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,943,000. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.76 and a 200-day moving average of $173.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $121.46 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reported results that exceeded expectations and the consensus has moved up after the print — investors are pricing better-than-expected trading and wealth-management performance into MS. Results: Morgan Stanley Exceeded Expectations And The Consensus Has Updated Its Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is lifting valuations: UBS raised its price target on Morgan Stanley (coverage note summarized publicly), and other shops have nudged estimates — analyst upgrades support additional buying. UBS Adjusts Morgan Stanley Price Target to $214
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley has begun piloting cryptocurrency trading on E*Trade at lower fees (0.5%), undercutting major retail rivals — this could add new retail trading volumes and convert E*Trade client flows into fee revenue as the rollout scales to ~8.6M accounts. Morgan Stanley Pilots Crypto Trading on E*Trade Platform
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts/estimates continue to be refined: Erste Group nudged FY?2027 EPS slightly higher for MS — incremental forecast upgrades tend to support the stock but are modest in magnitude. Erste Group upped FY2027 earnings estimates for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research and surveys (Morgan Stanley client/industry work) continue to position the bank as a thought leader; useful for franchise value but not an immediate P&L driver. Morgan Stanley Survey Finds Founders Managing More Complex Tradeoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lost a ~$1.5B Pennsylvania wealth team to Wells Fargo — a client/team departure can reduce AUM and fees in the near term and highlights competitive pressure in wealth recruitment. Wells Fargo Hires $1.5 Billion Pennsylvania Team From Morgan Stanley

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.