MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) PT Lowered to $615.00

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $671.00 to $615.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MSCI from a hold rating to a buy rating and cut their price target for the stock from $613.00 to $569.00 in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James restated a market perform rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $562.87.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $464.81 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $545.76 and its 200 day moving average is $538.56. MSCI has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.06.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 111.33%. The business had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 14.81 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 105.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 80 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 348.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 13,823 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,092,000 after purchasing an additional 4,346 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSCI

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.