Simplicity Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,414 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,321 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,809,000 after purchasing an additional 4,763 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,232 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,737,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 799 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 181.7% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 1,445 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI traded down $6.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $505.53. The stock had a trading volume of 792,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,886. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $516.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $536.81. The company has a market capitalization of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded MSCI from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $425.00 to $525.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $570.53.

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.

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