MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $692.70.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $545.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $715.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $578.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $562.41 and its 200-day moving average is $565.96. MSCI has a 52-week low of $501.08 and a 52-week high of $626.28. The company has a market cap of $42.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.06, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The technology company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.38 by $0.17. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 65.48%. The company had revenue of $850.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MSCI will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 46.83%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvise J. Munari sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.04, for a total transaction of $5,920,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,941,357.92. The trade was a 29.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 341.7% in the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.