MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• MSCI has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 11 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is $692.70, suggesting upside from current levels.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.55 versus estimates of $4.38 and revenue of $850.8 million versus expectations of $830.9 million. Revenue rose 14.1% year over year.
• MSCI also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, payable May 29, which works out to an annualized dividend of $8.20 and a yield of about 1.4%.

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $692.70.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $730.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

MSCI Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $578.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $562.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI has a 12-month low of $501.08 and a 12-month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% 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 Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,008,745,000 after acquiring an additional 109,287 shares during the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP lifted its position in MSCI by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP now owns 4,919 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788 shares during the last quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 103.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 14,958 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,490,000 after acquiring an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in MSCI by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,228 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,996 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.

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