MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) in a research note published on Tuesday. The firm issued a buy rating and a $700.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $655.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $715.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore upped their price target on MSCI from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.78.

MSCI Trading Down 0.9%

MSCI stock opened at $521.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $572.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.49. The company has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $626.28.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $4.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $822.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.51 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.36% and a negative return on equity of 82.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.80. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.26%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 15,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $247,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,450. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 19,300 shares of company stock worth $10,261,957. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in MSCI by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 20.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.5% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,605,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Company Profile

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.