IFP Advisors Inc Grows Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 26.8%, acquiring a total of 2,785 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of MSCI at an average price of $544.70, increasing his ownership to nearly 1.28 million shares valued at around $697 million.
• MSCI's stock has received positive ratings from multiple analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $649.70.

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,785 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 588 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Callan Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 92.9% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,627 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of MSCI by 19.8% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at about $481,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 1.1% during the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 127.9% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 107,564 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,036,000 after buying an additional 60,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday. 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 research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of MSCI to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $546.69 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $564.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $559.22. The stock has a market cap of $42.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.33. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The business's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

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.

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