MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Receives $645.36 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $645.36.

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in MSCI by 50.0% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $571.26 on Friday. MSCI has a 1 year low of $475.32 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $550.12 and its 200 day moving average is $579.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

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.