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

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $700.00 to $575.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

MSCI has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $562.87.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $477.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $541.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $537.90. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39.

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. The business had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,260,105 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,159,615,000 after buying an additional 15,184 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 1.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,893,728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $971,634,000 after purchasing an additional 30,528 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in MSCI by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,725,215 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $976,009,000 after purchasing an additional 151,108 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in MSCI by 14.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,460,634 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $749,422,000 after purchasing an additional 179,508 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in MSCI by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,038,761 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $587,575,000 after purchasing an additional 44,234 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.