KBC Group NV Raises Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 11.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,208 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in MSCI were worth $7,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $631.83.

MSCI Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded down $10.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $593.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 525,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,098. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $583.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $537.85. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 42.02%.

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.