MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $660.60 and last traded at $661.0490, with a volume of 30,101 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $639.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $715.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $684.00 price target (down from $704.00) on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MSCI from $685.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $683.69.

MSCI Stock Up 4.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $570.03 and a 200 day moving average of $574.02. The company has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.20.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The technology company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 50.69% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $887.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 2,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $623.66, for a total value of $1,484,934.46. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 14,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,796,100.64. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew C. Wiechmann sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total transaction of $256,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,337,080. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,179 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd grew its position in MSCI by 1.2% in the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MSCI by 5.2% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 489 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 11.9% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in MSCI by 5.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 511 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) is a global provider of investment decision-support tools and services for institutional investors, asset managers, banks and other financial institutions. The company is best known for developing equity, fixed-income and multi-asset indexes used to benchmark portfolios and support the creation of investment products such as exchange-traded funds.

In addition to its indexes, MSCI provides portfolio analytics, risk-management and performance-attribution tools, as well as research and data covering environmental, social and governance factors, climate risk and sustainable investing.