MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $569.53.

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MSCI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at $133,705,767.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in MSCI by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 664 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in MSCI by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 3.6% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,080 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $467.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $532.35 and a 200-day moving average of $536.09. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

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.