UBS Group Cuts MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Price Target to $680.00

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $695.00 to $680.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Argus boosted their price objective on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $631.83.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $577.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $580.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.08. MSCI has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI will post 14.94 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of MSCI by 13.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 244 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of MSCI by 21.9% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 17,258 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter worth approximately $232,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 27.9% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 27.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 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.