Aspiriant LLC Invests $229,000 in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Aspiriant LLC acquired a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 408 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in MSCI in the first quarter worth approximately $75,000. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 4,659 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. bought a new stake in MSCI in the first quarter worth $214,000. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC grew its position in MSCI by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its stake in MSCI by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $487.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $486.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $531.86. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.14 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.53.

MSCI Company 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.