MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,449 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,082 shares during the quarter. MSCI comprises approximately 1.1% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 542 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in MSCI by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $575.12. 13,562 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 540,191. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $580.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $531.77. The company has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.95 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 issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.