MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Upgraded to “Buy” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE:MSCIFree Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $723.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $617.00.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.67.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSCI

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $597.90 on Wednesday. MSCI has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $600.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $557.13.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCIGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 42.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Company Profile

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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.

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