Assetmark Inc. Increases Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,938 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $4,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 6.9% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 2.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $870,627,000 after buying an additional 37,340 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in MSCI during the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in MSCI by 24.8% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock opened at $562.01 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $43.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $590.02 and a 200 day moving average of $590.00.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

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.