MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Bought by Focus Partners Wealth

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its MSCI Inc holdings by 10.1% in Q1, now owning 24,728 shares valued at approximately $13.98 million.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 84 shares of MSCI at $548.69 each, raising personal holdings to 1,279,951 shares worth about $702.3 million.
• MSCI declared a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,728 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in MSCI were worth $13,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 499,001 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $282,185,000 after acquiring an additional 21,967 shares in the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its stake in MSCI by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the technology company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 6,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 84 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $548.69 per share, with a total value of $46,089.96. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,296,314.19. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.5%

MSCI stock opened at $582.77 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap 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 has a fifty day moving average of $563.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million during 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 revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.45.

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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