MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Upgraded to Buy by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $680.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded MSCI to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $612.00.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $604.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $562.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $523.30. The company has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.28, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The company had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.1% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 479 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in MSCI by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 542 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of MSCI by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.