Analysts Set MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) PT at $645.67

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $645.67.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 3.1% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 732 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $591.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $601.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $569.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

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.