Allstate Corp Has $1.73 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its holdings in MSCI Inc by 31.9%, now owning 3,066 shares valued at approximately $1.73 million.
• Equities analysts are optimistic about MSCI's future, with ten analysts rating the stock as "Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.
• MSCI Inc announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80, with a dividend yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on August 29th.

Allstate Corp grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 31.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,066 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in MSCI by 5,053.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 30,406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $18,244,000 after purchasing an additional 29,816 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,729,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,425 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,245 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $566.43. The stock had a trading volume of 116,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,035. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $565.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $560.14. The company has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.29.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $654.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the firm'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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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.