Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target Raised to $210.00

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) had its price target boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $202.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a moderate buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $157.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.93.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $189.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $192.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.90. The firm has a market cap of $300.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.69 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 14.09%.The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 39.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,234,883,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $343,236,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,357,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,055,000 after buying an additional 1,776,544 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 319.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,092,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,727,000 after buying an additional 1,593,774 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,623,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,537,000 after buying an additional 1,476,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

More Morgan Stanley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: MS reported $2.68 EPS (above consensus) with net income and operating profit up year‑over‑year, driven by wealth management and a rebound in investment banking. Morgan Stanley Q4 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase / cash return: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, a signal of confidence and an income tailwind for yield‑sensitive holders. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price‑target lifts: Several firms (including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods) raised their targets/ratings after the print, which can underpin longer‑term upside. Analyst Price Target Lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: Morgan Stanley benefits from a hot IPO/dealmaking environment and wealth‑management flows — management flagged a strong pipeline for 2026 but that outlook is already being priced in. Pipeline Comment
• Negative Sentiment: Operating cash flow weakness: The quarter showed a material swing to negative operating cash flow (cited ~-$3.3B), raising questions about short‑term cash dynamics despite large liquidity buffers. Cash Flow Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple senior executives have sold shares in recent months which can signal management cash‑outs and adds to near‑term selling pressure. Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue vs. expectations and “sell the news”: Revenue slightly missed some consensus figures; combined with investors taking profits after the post‑earnings pop, this explains downward pressure today. Revenue & Market Reaction

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.