Analysts Set MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target at $631.83

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $634.58.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $625.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.10. MSCI has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $599.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $553.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The business had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in shares of MSCI by 47.5% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 975 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,283 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 919 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 66.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,412 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 3.0% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by 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.