Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $153.11 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 1.4%, holding approximately 270,795 shares valued at $153.1 million as of the latest SEC disclosure.
• Analysts' price target revisions for MSCI varied, with JPMorgan raising the target from $650 to $680, while Wells Fargo decreased it from $578 to $533, indicating differing outlooks among equity research firms.
• MSCI recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with shareholders of record set to be paid on August 29th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,795 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,746 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.35% of MSCI worth $153,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in MSCI by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MSCI traded up $6.3540 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $573.6240. The company's stock had a trading volume of 380,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,549. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $563.35 and a 200-day moving average of $560.45.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. MSCI's payout ratio is 47.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $654.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

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

MSCI 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.