MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Down 4.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• MSCI shares dropped 4.4% during midday trading, falling from a previous close of $578.64 to a last traded price of $553.06.
• Equities analysts have mixed outlooks for MSCI, with target price upgrades from UBS Group to $700.00, while Wells Fargo lowered theirs to $533.00, indicating uncertainty in market sentiment.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 47.68%.

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) traded down 4.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $554.22 and last traded at $553.06. 658,331 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 610,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $578.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.45.

MSCI Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $562.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $558.83.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 84 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders acquired 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 136.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Company Profile

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.