MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target Lowered to $650.00 at Barclays

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $675.00 to $650.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the technology company's stock.

MSCI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $647.31.

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MSCI Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $28.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $535.56. 263,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 564,444. MSCI has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $565.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $587.41.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

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.