MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• MSCI has a consensus “Buy” rating from 12 analysts, with 11 buy ratings and one strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $709.50, above the reported share price of $559.81.
• MSCI’s latest quarterly results modestly missed estimates, reporting $4.94 EPS versus $4.99 expected and revenue of $867 million versus $870.71 million forecast. However, revenue increased 12.2% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to an annualized $8.20 dividend and a 1.5% yield; institutional investors own nearly 90% of MSCI’s outstanding shares.

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $709.50.

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group set a $615.00 price objective on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $559.81 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $569.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $574.92. The stock has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.22. MSCI has a one year low of $501.08 and a one year high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a negative return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 40.74%.The firm had revenue of $867.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Junto Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 128.9% during the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 214,134 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $119,924,000 after purchasing an additional 120,584 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in MSCI by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,291,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its stake in MSCI by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 14,194 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,949,000 after buying an additional 4,097 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,790,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, wealth managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for its indexes, which are used to benchmark portfolios and support the design of investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-based strategies.

In addition to indexes covering equities, fixed income and other asset classes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management tools, performance measurement and investment data.

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