Gobi Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 203,515 MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Gobi Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in MSCI Inc, purchasing 203,515 shares valued at approximately $115 million, which constitutes 6.6% of their investment portfolio.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of MSCI's stock, indicating a strong confidence in the company from major financial players.
• MSCI recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Gobi Capital LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 203,515 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $115,088,000. MSCI accounts for about 6.6% of Gobi Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Gobi Capital LLC owned approximately 0.26% of MSCI as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in MSCI by 23.2% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 812 shares of the technology company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 336.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the technology company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the technology company's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $556,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 894 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI traded down $14.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $553.48. 845,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,899. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.65, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.34. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $566.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $559.86.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 84 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,951 shares in the company, valued at $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders bought 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted 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 cut their price objective on MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

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.