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

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $645.67.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

MSCI Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $602.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $602.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $569.53. MSCI has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $47.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 14.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,816,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in MSCI by 1.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 33,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,313,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in MSCI by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 42,833 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,516,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in MSCI by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,064,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

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.