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

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $591.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised MSCI to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $575.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $557.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $522.18. The stock has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. The business had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.