MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Sets New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $633.48 and last traded at $632.26, with a volume of 110771 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $618.50.

Specifically, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.83.

MSCI Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $597.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $552.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The business had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Company Profile

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.