Morgan Stanley Posts Solid Win in Q4

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 3:49PM EST · Published Jan 17, 8:50AM EST

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Morgan Stanley Posts Solid Win in Q4 — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”507733″ placement=”ros”]Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) posted its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Tuesday. The company said that it had $0.81 in earnings per share (EPS) and $9.0 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates called for $0.65 in EPS and revenue of $8.47 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.43 and $7.86 billion in revenue.

This bank is not the only major firm reporting on Tuesday. UnitedHealth reported profits as well as one of the Dow firms reporting this week.

At the end of the quarter, Morgan Stanley’s book value and tangible book value per common share were $36.99 and $31.98, respectively. The Common Equity Tier 1 and Tier 1 risk-based capital ratios under Advanced Approach transitional provisions were roughly 16.8% and 19.0%, respectively.

During the quarter, Morgan Stanley repurchased roughly $1.0 billion of its common stock, or 27 million shares. The firm also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, which will be payable on February 15 for shareholders of record on January 31.

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In terms of the individual business segments, Morgan Stanley reported:

Institutional Securities net revenues were $4.6 billion reflecting strong results across our Sales and Trading franchise and continued strength in M&A advisory.

Wealth Management net revenues were $4.0 billion and pre-tax margin was 22%. Fee-based asset flows for the quarter were $17.1 billion.

Investment Management reported net revenues of $500 million with assets under management or supervision of $417 billion.

James P. Gorman, board chair and chief executive, commented:

Our quarterly results reflect consistent strong performance, while our annual results show meaningful earnings growth over 2015. We reported solid results in Sales & Trading and Advisory, and record revenues in Wealth Management, while managing expenses prudently. We are optimistic about opportunities in 2017 and beyond and remain focused on serving our clients and achieving our strategic objectives.

Shares of Morgan Stanley closed Friday at $43.81, with a consensus analyst price target of $45.59 and a 52-week trading range of $21.16 to $44.60. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up about 0.6% at $44.05 in early trading indications Tuesday.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.