Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Has Average Target Price of $219.90

Posted by Geri Gentry on Oct 10th, 2026

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $219.43.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $243.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Get Our Latest Analysis on MS

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MS stock opened at $189.96 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $151.84 and a 1 year high of $232.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.76. The company has a market cap of $299.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 15.65%. The firm had revenue of $21.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 12.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 37.19%.

Key Stories Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Positive Sentiment: Options traders purchased approximately 26,930 MS call contracts, well above average call volume, suggesting increased short-term bullish positioning. Morgan Stanley unusual options activity
Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer recently backed Morgan Stanley after its pullback, highlighting the company’s buyback authorization and long-term prospects. That commentary may be supporting investor confidence, although it is not a fundamental earnings catalyst. Jim Cramer Backs Morgan Stanley After Its Pullback
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s proposal to convert eight Eaton Vance municipal-bond mutual funds, representing nearly $10 billion in assets, into ETFs could support its asset-management strategy and improve product efficiency if shareholders approve the transactions. Morgan Stanley Municipal Fund ETF Conversions
Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Hold rating and a $210 price target, implying potential upside from the reported trading level but signaling that the firm sees balanced risk and reward. TD Cowen Initiates Morgan Stanley Coverage
Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings analysis points to a challenging Q3 outlook: higher costs and muted investment-banking deal activity could pressure results, even if trading revenue remains relatively strong. Morgan Stanley Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings
Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from Buy to Hold, adding to a more cautious analyst tone ahead of earnings. Erste Group Morgan Stanley Downgrade

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,825,883,310. State Street Corp raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th 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. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,326,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,686,881,000 after purchasing an additional 87,533 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,206,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,342,532,000 after buying an additional 188,296 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $2,040,227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm serving corporations, governments, financial institutions, individuals and other investors. The company provides investment banking and advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advice, equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, and corporate lending.

Through its Wealth Management business, Morgan Stanley offers financial planning, brokerage, investment advisory and banking services to individual investors, businesses and institutions.