Brokerages Set MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Target Price at $645.67

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $645.67.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 0.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 732 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Down 4.3 %

MSCI stock opened at $576.17 on Friday. MSCI has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $602.56 and a 200-day moving average of $570.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

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.