Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 526.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,245 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,897 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $13,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. American National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1,300.0% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 70 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $561.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $617.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $542.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $521.84.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The company had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Barclays raised their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MSCI to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.00.

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.