MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $650.1250.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MSCI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total value of $348,454.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,450. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 39.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of MSCI by 6.0% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,912 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 51,637 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,781,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $602.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.15 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $634.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $567.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.97.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.10. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 110.94% and a net margin of 40.03%.The company had revenue of $793.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.86 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 45.63%.

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.