Nuveen LLC Takes $117.88 Million Position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC made a significant investment in MSCI Inc, acquiring 208,451 shares valued at approximately $117.88 million, accounting for about 0.27% of the company's stock.
• MSCI reported Q2 earnings of $4.17 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenues rising 9.1% year-over-year to $772.68 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with an anticipated annual yield of 1.3% based on a payout ratio of 47.68%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 208,451 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $117,879,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.27% of MSCI at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 136.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 50.0% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.2%

MSCI traded down $0.95 during trading on Thursday, hitting $566.48. 362,921 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,627. The business's 50 day moving average is $562.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.70. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $772.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.68%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 9,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $544.70 per share, with a total value of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last three months. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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 research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $654.73.

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.