MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $570.00 to $590.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.05% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $588.00 to $611.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $690.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.13.

MSCI Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $2.88 on Wednesday, reaching $590.32. 81,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,144. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $634.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $566.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.49.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.10. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 110.94% and a net margin of 40.03%.The business had revenue of $793.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $794.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $558.42, for a total transaction of $348,454.08. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 15,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,904,006.90. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 10,210 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $536.13 per share, with a total value of $5,473,887.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,487,047 shares in the company, valued at $797,250,508.11. The trade was a 0.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. raised its holdings in MSCI by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 5,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,404,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 409.2% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,322,000 after acquiring an additional 4,653 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 874 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 19,814 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,368,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.