Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 1,261 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 24.8%, acquiring an additional 1,261 shares, bringing their total holdings to 6,348 shares valued at approximately $3,590,000.
• MSCI Inc reported quarterly earnings of $4.17 per share, exceeding estimates, with year-over-year revenue growth of 9.1% to $772.68 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for MSCI, with a price target averaging around $654.73, as several firms have recently adjusted their ratings and prices for the stock.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,348 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $3,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,478 shares of the technology company's stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in MSCI by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,352 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $555.43 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $42.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50-day moving average is $564.68 and its 200 day moving average is $559.52.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, with a total value of $5,401,245.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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.

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