MSCI Inc $MSCI Holdings Raised by Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd

Key Points

• Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd increased its stake in MSCI Inc by 119.8%, buying an additional 8,573 shares, bringing its total holdings to 15,730 shares worth approximately $8.9 million.
• MSCI recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, which will be paid on August 29th, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on MSCI, with an average price target of $654.73 and multiple ratings upgraded, emphasizing strong market performance expectations.

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 119.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,730 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 8,573 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up about 1.2% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings in MSCI were worth $8,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 $697,143,554.90. The trade was a 0.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $570.82. 332,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,941. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $564.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.24.

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

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.