Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,791 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in MSCI were worth $16,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 0.9% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in MSCI by 3.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 542 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 5.0% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 423 shares of the technology company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSCI traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $631.34. 255,669 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 535,476. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $638.76. The company's fifty day moving average price is $596.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $551.26. The company has a market capitalization of $49.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.10.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. MSCI's payout ratio is 42.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $690.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.