MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 649,913 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 449,257 shares.The stock last traded at $506.29 and had previously closed at $511.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on MSCI from $659.00 to $648.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Redburn Atlantic lowered MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Edward Jones assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $581.57.

MSCI Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $555.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $539.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $690.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $662.64 million. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of MSCI by 1.6% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,788 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in MSCI by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.