MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Trading Down 0.5%

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $509.20 and last traded at $509.52. Approximately 146,812 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 584,885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded MSCI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MSCI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $570.53.

MSCI Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $515.52 and a 200 day moving average of $536.86. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.14 EPS. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSCI during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 5,600.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.