Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 254,415 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,351 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.32% of MSCI worth $122,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter valued at $7,766,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 2.3% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,283 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 1.4% during the second quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 32.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 241,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,564,000 after purchasing an additional 58,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 526.6% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,125,000 after purchasing an additional 22,897 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $551.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $548.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.49. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39. The firm has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The company had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.00.

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.