MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $649.23.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

MSCI Stock Up 1.5 %

MSCI opened at $590.15 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $593.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $589.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.