MSCI Inc $MSCI Shares Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG significantly increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 100.3% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 3,243 shares valued at approximately $1.87 million.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased nearly 10,000 shares of MSCI at an average price of $544.70 per share, raising his total ownership to over 1.2 million shares worth around $697 million.
• MSCI recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with an annualized payout of $7.20, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.3%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 100.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,243 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,624 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in MSCI by 6.7% in the first quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 4,559 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $216,000. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 45.2% in the first quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,957 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth about $492,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 16.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 257 shares of the technology company's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $544.70 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $697,143,554.90. This represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have bought 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE MSCI opened at $560.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $563.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $559.54.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.06 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of MSCI to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $652.45.

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.

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