JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Price

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

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

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded down $4.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $551.86. 66,855 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 567,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $560.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $586.46.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MSCI will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MSCI

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the first quarter valued at $678,000. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,590 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised 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 valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 14.4% during the 1st 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 shares of MSCI by 2.3% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 9,988 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,648,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

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.