BMO Capital Markets Cuts Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Price Target to $190.00

09 Apr 2026, 06:42 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $215.00 to $190.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MS. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $153.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.94.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 4.6%

MS opened at $176.17 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.57. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $97.89 and a 1-year high of $192.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.40. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.18%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 8,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.08, for a total value of $1,547,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,690,826.24. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 32,968 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider owned 357,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,254,222.62. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,191 shares of company stock worth $23,736,506 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), a spot Bitcoin ETP on NYSE Arca priced with an ultra-low 0.14% fee — the first bank‑affiliated spot Bitcoin product from a major U.S. bank. The fund’s low fee and MS’s advisor network could drive meaningful, durable inflows and incremental fee revenue. Businesswire: MSBT launch
Positive Sentiment: The MSBT launch gains distribution advantages: Morgan Stanley’s ~16,000 financial advisors and ~$6.2T in client assets create a “captive” channel that analysts and industry commentators say could translate to advisor-directed inflows from day one — a structural advantage versus independent issuers. CoinDesk video/coverage
Positive Sentiment: Street support: UBS upgraded Morgan Stanley to Buy this morning, citing wealth‑management strength and profitability — the upgrade adds momentum to the stock amid broader bank‑sector volatility. Positive analyst notes can buoy sentiment into earnings. CNBC: UBS upgrade
Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is also moving in private credit (planning new funds/interval offerings) to capitalize on market dislocation — this expands fee opportunities but carries execution and fundraising timing risk. Benzinga: private credit fund
Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (mid‑April) and some estimate revisions are in focus — incremental analyst EPS upgrades (Erste) and commentary about momentum set expectations that investors will check next results for the impact of product launches and wealth‑management flows.
Negative Sentiment: Offsetting analyst moves: a few firms trimmed price targets or issued cautious notes (Evercore, BMO, Daiwa) — these mixed research actions create some short‑term target dispersion and could cap upside if macro/headline risk rises. AmericanBankingNews: Evercore/BMO notes

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.