Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 618 Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 2.8%, owning 22,486 shares valued at approximately $12.56 million as of the end of the most recent reporting period.
• MSCI reported earnings of $4.17 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and marking a 9.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $772.68 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.32%, with a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,486 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in MSCI were worth $12,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 812 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $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 first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.5% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 59,741 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,845,000 after buying an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at $697,143,554.90. This represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $3.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $561.03. 286,579 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 590,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $486.73 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $563.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.67.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. MSCI'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 earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.68%.

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.