Simplicity Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 77.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 477 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,719,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,886,777,000 after acquiring an additional 36,043 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,734,519 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $972,111,000 after buying an additional 9,304 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 74.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,456,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $701,522,000 after purchasing an additional 623,712 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its stake in MSCI by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 1,323,058 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $741,508,000 after buying an additional 23,217 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 1.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,960 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $504,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $607.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $567.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $524.69. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. MSCI’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.8 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.14.

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.