JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $680.00 to $650.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 17.78% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.92.

MSCI Trading Down 0.8 %

MSCI stock traded down $4.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $551.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 66,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,041. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $560.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $586.46. The company has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MSCI

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSCI. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at about $678,000. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 15.6% during the first quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,064,000 after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in MSCI by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 670 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 14.4% in the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 9,988 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,648,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in 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.