Everstar Asset Management LLC Makes New $6.37 Million Investment in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Everstar Asset Management LLC acquired 11,269 shares of MSCI Inc, valued at approximately $6.37 million, making it 1.2% of their portfolio.
• MSCI's recent earnings report showed a profit of $4.17 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue rising by 9.1% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Everstar Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,269 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,373,000. MSCI comprises 1.2% of Everstar Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 15.4% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 142 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 3.8% during the first quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 540 shares of the technology company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 5.9% during the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 361 shares of the technology company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 16.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 2.6% during the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the technology company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 84 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 over the last 90 days. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MSCI traded down $2.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $582.77. 722,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,666. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $486.73 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $563.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $559.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 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 firm had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 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.