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

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $591.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. UBS Group increased their target price on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of MSCI to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI traded up $7.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $574.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 315,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,329. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $553.76 and a 200 day moving average of $522.22. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.41 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MSCI will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 9.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 239,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $134,475,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares during the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $959,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $904,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $2,755,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 9.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 88,097 shares of the technology company's stock worth $49,307,000 after acquiring an additional 7,718 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.