Brokerages Set MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Target Price at $591.00

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $591.00.

MSCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised MSCI to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus increased their price objective on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $575.83 on Friday. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39. The company has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $557.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $522.18.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $696.41 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.