657 Shares in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP has acquired 657 shares of MSCI Inc, valued at approximately $372,000, marking its initial investment in the company.
• MSCI reported earnings of $4.17 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenues of $772.68 million, up 9.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with a 1.3% yield and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 657 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 50.0% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MSCI. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

MSCI Trading Up 0.2%

MSCI stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $546.73. The stock had a trading volume of 608,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,163. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $562.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.99. The firm has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 84 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $548.69 per share, for a total transaction of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,296,314.19. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.31% 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.