MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Increased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,222 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,521 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in MSCI were worth $76,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 30.0% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,748,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in MSCI by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 3,779 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in MSCI during the first quarter worth approximately $778,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 207.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSCI. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $601.96 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $631.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $587.82 and its 200-day moving average is $544.08.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

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.