MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,357 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of MSCI by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 239,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $134,475,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 13,720 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,761,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $959,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $904,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 819,422 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $463,506,000 after acquiring an additional 57,342 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.20.

MSCI Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:MSCI traded up $11.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $505.32. 352,259 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,969. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $617.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $488.57 and a 200 day moving average of $527.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.14 earnings per share. MSCI’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.