MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 318,214 shares during the period. MSCI makes up about 3.5% of Edgewood Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Edgewood Management LLC owned about 2.80% of MSCI worth $1,279,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.83.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $581.34 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $631.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $585.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly 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 last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio 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.