Intellectus Partners LLC Increases Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Intellectus Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 53.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,590 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 552 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $606.14 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $582.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $536.05. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.50 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.