MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Strong Earnings

Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 425,083 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session’s volume of 505,533 shares.The stock last traded at $459.74 and had previously closed at $446.00.

The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The company had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.14 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $575.27.

Institutional Trading of MSCI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 426.0% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 1,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 8,659 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,853,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter worth $2,386,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Up 3.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $547.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $539.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.06.

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.