MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target Cut to $575.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $700.00 to $575.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on MSCI from $530.00 to $425.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MSCI from a hold rating to a buy rating and reduced their price target for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut MSCI from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price objective for the company from $620.00 to $470.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $562.87.

MSCI Trading Up 2.9 %

MSCI opened at $477.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $541.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $537.90. MSCI has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 EPS. MSCI’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 105.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 80 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 348.7% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 341 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in MSCI by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 13,823 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,092,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Company Profile

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.