MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $680.00 to $700.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

MSCI has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.85.

MSCI Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $614.58 on Tuesday. MSCI has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $48.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $604.61 and a 200 day moving average of $577.21.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 21.9% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,705,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 34.0% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 686 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 4.7% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,212 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,292,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.