Atomi Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 113.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,094 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 582 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSCI. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 16.9% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,904,000 after acquiring an additional 318,214 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in MSCI by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $925,531,000 after purchasing an additional 198,666 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 700.4% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in MSCI by 358.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,900,000 after purchasing an additional 104,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $56,101,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Up 0.3 %

MSCI opened at $614.58 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $604.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $577.21. The firm has a market cap of $48.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSCI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven 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 $649.85.

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.