Alpha Wealth Funds LLC Acquires New Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $820,000. MSCI accounts for about 0.8% of Alpha Wealth Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 147.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 89 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI traded down $3.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $563.72. 348,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,186. The company has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $475.32 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $550.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $577.00.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 49.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $645.36.

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.