Erste Group Bank Predicts Morgan Stanley FY2026 Earnings

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Morgan Stanley in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $11.35 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.30. Erste Group Bank currently 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 several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $168.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $266.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.53. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $97.89 and a 12-month high of $192.68.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $6,020,286.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,254,222.62. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 15,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $25,135,424.08. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,191 shares of company stock valued at $23,736,506 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,618,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 429,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,279,000 after purchasing an additional 64,401 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 28,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,995,000 after purchasing an additional 7,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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

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.