Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 1,340 Shares of MSCI Inc $MSCI

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI Inc. by 56.5% in Q1, owning 3,710 shares estimated at $2,098,000.
• MSCI reported $4.17 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $772.68 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.80 per share, with a 1.3% dividend yield, to be paid on August 29th.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 56.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,710 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 136.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI traded down $6.1050 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $568.1450. The company's stock had a trading volume of 178,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,770. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.73 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $562.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $560.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.29.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.05. The company 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised shares of MSCI from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.