MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,516 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 302.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,306 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 3,988 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth $212,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in MSCI by 455.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,614 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after buying an additional 4,604 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the first quarter valued at $367,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 388.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 176 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $593.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $631.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $583.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $537.35.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. MSCI’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

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.