Brokerages Set MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target at $671.78

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $671.7778.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $655.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th.

MSCI Trading Up 0.6%

MSCI opened at $569.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $571.28 and a 200-day moving average of $565.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The business had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.18 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $524.18 per share, for a total transaction of $3,145,080.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. This represents a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at $11,901,450. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 341.7% in the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Company Profile

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.