MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Has Average Target Price of $709.50 According to Brokerages

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $709.50.

MSCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price objective on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on MSCI from $730.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $690.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $556.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $565.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $574.61. MSCI has a fifty-two week low of $501.08 and a fifty-two week high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.99 by ($0.05). MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. The firm had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $870.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 44.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden increased its position in shares of MSCI by 477.6% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 15,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,669,000 after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of MSCI by 128.9% during the second quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 214,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $119,924,000 after acquiring an additional 120,584 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at $5,291,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, wealth managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for its indexes, which are used to benchmark portfolios and support the design of investment products such as exchange-traded funds and other index-based strategies.

In addition to indexes covering equities, fixed income and other asset classes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management tools, performance measurement and investment data.