Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $715.00 to $730.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MSCI. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MSCI from $719.00 to $727.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price objective on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $709.27.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $603.43. 267,745 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,532. The company has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $593.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $575.41. MSCI has a 12 month low of $501.08 and a 12 month high of $644.68.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The business had revenue of $850.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI will post 19.74 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $2.05 dividend. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.83%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. This represents a 29.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 341.7% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.