MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,878 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $4,886,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,043 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in MSCI by 0.5% in the 1st 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. raised its position in MSCI by 74.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,456,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $701,522,000 after buying an additional 623,712 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in MSCI by 1.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,217 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $504,855,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus boosted their price target on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $577.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $580.21 and a 200 day moving average of $530.20. The firm has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The business had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.02%.

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.