Analysts Set MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target at $654.73

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $654.7273.

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSCI. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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, Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th.

MSCI Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MSCI traded down $5.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $568.93. The company had a trading volume of 334,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,774. The company's 50 day moving average price is $562.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.63. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%.The business had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 84 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 136.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

About MSCI

MSCI 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.