Scientech Research LLC Purchases 1,469 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Scientech Research LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 188.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,249 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in MSCI by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 239,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $134,475,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at about $959,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $904,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $2,755,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in MSCI by 9.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 88,097 shares of the technology company's stock worth $49,307,000 after acquiring an additional 7,718 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $576.10 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $553.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $522.22. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $617.39. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.00.

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.

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