MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $649.85.

MSCI has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

MSCI Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $594.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $606.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $581.42. MSCI has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 52.4% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 174,982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,991,000 after purchasing an additional 41,346 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 536,211 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $312,574,000 after purchasing an additional 23,050 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 339.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,834 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,642,000 after purchasing an additional 20,730 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.