MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Trading 0.3% Higher

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $494.35 and last traded at $487.04. 147,472 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 574,380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $485.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $570.53.

MSCI Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $522.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $536.07. The stock has a market cap of $38.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The business had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. MSCI's payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 68.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 79,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $44,670,000 after buying an additional 32,336 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in MSCI by 1.7% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 44,620 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,007,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in MSCI by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,734,519 shares of the technology company's stock worth $972,111,000 after buying an additional 9,304 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in MSCI by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,105 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,905,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 17.7% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.