MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $645.67.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

MSCI Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $576.17 on Friday. MSCI has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $602.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $570.70. The company has a market capitalization of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 807 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $774,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by 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.