MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MSCI Inc. by 5.9%, owning approximately 12.12% of the company, valued at over $5.3 billion.
• CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 84 shares of MSCI stock recently, bringing his total ownership to nearly $702 million.
• MSCI's stock has a 52-week low of $486.73 and high of $642.45, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $654.73.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,376,852 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 518,833 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.12% of MSCI worth $5,302,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the technology company's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 1.7% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,383 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,175,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 4.4% during the first quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of MSCI by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 175,636 shares of the technology company's stock worth $99,322,000 after buying an additional 26,696 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:MSCI traded up $1.24 on Friday, hitting $546.73. The stock had a trading volume of 608,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,163. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $562.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $563.34. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $486.73 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million for 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%. MSCI's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 yield of 1.3%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $654.73.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.