MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $628.34, but opened at $595.95. MSCI shares last traded at $594.19, with a volume of 167,222 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

MSCI Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $606.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $581.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 168.58% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.91 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 45.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently 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.