Americana Partners LLC Boosts Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 71.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,567 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the first quarter worth $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth $58,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $6.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $577.95. 369,472 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,939. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $580.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $530.20. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $631.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSCI. Evercore ISI began coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Argus raised their price target on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating 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 data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $631.83.

MSCI Company 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.