MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Trading Up 1.8%

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) shares traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $480.44 and last traded at $479.40. 129,326 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 574,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $470.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $569.53.

MSCI Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $526.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $535.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $459.41 per share, with a total value of $3,445,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $459.41 per share, with a total value of $3,445,575.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in MSCI by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in MSCI by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 218,623 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,786,000 after buying an additional 35,277 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 13,659.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,759,000 after acquiring an additional 10,108 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 430,676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $220,971,000 after acquiring an additional 12,495 shares in the last quarter. 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.