7,020 Shares in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Purchased by Bulltick Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Bulltick Wealth Management LLC acquired 7,020 shares of MSCI Inc valued at approximately $3.97 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares at an average cost of $544.70, increasing his ownership stake in MSCI to over 1.27 million shares valued at approximately $697 million.
• MSCI announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80, set to be paid on August 29th, with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Bulltick Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,020 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,970,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $566.48. The stock had a trading volume of 362,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,133. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.29. MSCI Inc has a 12-month low of $486.73 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm's 50-day moving average is $562.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The firm 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 84 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,296,314.19. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last three months. 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.