11,050 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Acquired by Bellwether Advisors LLC

Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,050 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,442,000. MSCI comprises approximately 1.2% of Bellwether Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $596.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $585.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $540.12. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MSCI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.