MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $618.00 to $545.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.
Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MSCI. Evercore increased their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings cut MSCI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $638.00 price target on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $710.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $665.89.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MSCI
MSCI Stock Performance
MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.04. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The company had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MSCI Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.
Insider Transactions at MSCI
In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $524.18 per share, with a total value of $3,145,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,493,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $782,625,376.46. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $12,624,640. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.76% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,674,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,489,177,000 after acquiring an additional 165,851 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,320,761 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,884,233,000 after purchasing an additional 39,450 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in shares of MSCI by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,755,747 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,581,055,000 after purchasing an additional 361,630 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of MSCI by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,467,556 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,415,713,000 after purchasing an additional 52,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,777,749 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,008,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109,287 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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