MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bullish: MSCI has a consensus “Buy” rating from 12 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $709.50.
• MSCI’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, reporting $4.94 in EPS and $867 million in revenue, although revenue increased 12.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to an annualized $8.20 payout and a 1.4% yield; institutional investors own nearly 90% of the stock.

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $709.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MSCI from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $655.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $760.00 target price for the company.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $573.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.23. MSCI has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $596.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $576.54.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 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 company had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MSCI will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI's payout ratio is 44.86%.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $528,560,000. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in MSCI by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,581,055,000 after buying an additional 361,630 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $130,380,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,446,291 shares of the technology company's stock worth $829,781,000 after acquiring an additional 168,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in MSCI by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 724,618 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $417,916,000 after acquiring an additional 156,891 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MSCI

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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