R Squared Ltd Buys 1,050 Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 169.4% during the 1st quarter, owning 1,670 shares valued at $944,000, which constitutes 1.0% of its total holdings.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchasing 9,916 shares at $544.70 each, while COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares at $552.59.
• Several analysts have rated MSCI with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $654.73, with recent target price increases from entities like UBS Group.

R Squared Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 169.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,670 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for 1.0% of R Squared Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. R Squared Ltd's holdings in MSCI were worth $944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 136.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 50.0% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSCI. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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, 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 research report on Friday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.73.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI traded up $14.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $571.87. 863,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 946,123. The company has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $563.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.73. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.73 and a one year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.13% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

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.