iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,252 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,515 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $16,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in MSCI by 13,659.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,759,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 20,850.0% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 838 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 672 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 967 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $1.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $580.59. The stock had a trading volume of 325,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,385. The company has a market capitalization of $46.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $525.18 and its 200 day moving average is $522.25. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. The business had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Argus upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on MSCI from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $584.79.

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.