Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its stake in MSCI Inc by 74.7%, owning 6,232 shares valued at $3.5 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analysts’ reports show mixed sentiment, with Wells Fargo lowering its price target to $533, while UBS Group raised it to $700, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares at an average price of $544.70, increasing his total holdings to approximately $697 million.

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 74.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,232 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,376 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $3,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in MSCI by 50.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA increased its stake in MSCI by 355.6% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 82 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have bought 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 in the last 90 days. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $652.45.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5%

MSCI stock traded down $2.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $582.77. 722,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 562,666. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.34. The business's 50-day moving average price is $563.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $559.44.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. MSCI's payout ratio is 47.68%.

About MSCI

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.