Weekly Research Analysts’ Ratings Updates for MSCI (MSCI)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of MSCI (NYSE: MSCI) in the last few weeks:

• 4/30/2024 – MSCI was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $525.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $425.00.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $530.00 to $425.00. They now have an “underperform” rating on the stock.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $700.00 to $600.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $671.00 to $615.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. from $615.00 to $526.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc..
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $700.00 to $575.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/24/2024 – MSCI was upgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $569.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $613.00.
• 4/12/2024 – MSCI had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $638.00 price target on the stock.
• 4/9/2024 – MSCI had its price target lowered by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $659.00 to $648.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 3/26/2024 – MSCI is now covered by analysts at Wolfe Research. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $469.74 on Thursday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39. The company has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $536.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.91.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 5,600.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 1,300.0% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 70 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.