MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in MSCI Inc. by 74.2%, now owning 117,843 shares valued at approximately $66.64 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts maintain an "outperform" rating for MSCI, with target prices ranging from $631.00 to $680.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• MSCI recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 to be paid on August 29th, representing a 1.3% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 74.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,843 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 50,191 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.15% of MSCI worth $66,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 84 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $548.69 per share, for a total transaction of $46,089.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $565.29. The company had a trading volume of 185,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,960. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $562.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $562.09. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. MSCI's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

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.