MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Receives $631.83 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $631.83.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $680.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 directly owns 330,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 7.6% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the technology company's stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,075 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 437 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 65.1% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,069 shares of the technology company's stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $629.61. The stock had a trading volume of 440,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,347. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $597.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $552.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $638.76.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

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.