Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 10,856 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,101 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 10,856 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $22,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. Argus lifted their price objective on MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $631.83.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $7.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $610.53. 554,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,348. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $631.70. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $581.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $535.52. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 3.13 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. The business had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

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.