MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $649.23.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

MSCI Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MSCI traded up $8.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $575.38. 409,806 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,083. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $581.63 and a 200-day moving average of $588.73. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $716,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $346,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. 111 Capital bought a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $1,096,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,699 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.