Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $650.18.
MSCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th.
Get Our Latest Report on MSCI
MSCI Stock Up 2.5%
MSCI traded up $13.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $543.96. 1,252,005 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 696,535. The company's 50-day moving average is $564.87 and its 200 day moving average is $566.70. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.32.
MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. MSCI's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MSCI Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.48%.
Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI
In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 15.4% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 142 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.8% in the first quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 540 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 5.9% during the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 361 shares of the technology company's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 1.3% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About MSCI
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Get Free ReportMSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.
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