Entropy Technologies LP Purchases 1,788 Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 227.2% in the first quarter, now owning 2,575 shares valued at approximately $1.46 million.
• MSCI reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.17, beating estimates, with revenue growth of 9.1% year-over-year totaling $772.68 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share with a dividend yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on August 29th.

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 227.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,575 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $0.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $566.48. 362,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,133. The stock has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $562.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $562.09. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.68%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. The trade was a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders acquired a total of 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last quarter. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSCI. UBS Group raised 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. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

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.