Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.88 Million Stake in MSCI Inc $MSCI

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,265 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in MSCI by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 812 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 336.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 96 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,882 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at $355,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,279,867 shares in the company, valued at $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 12,400 shares of company stock valued at $6,731,599 in the last ninety days. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $548.45 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc has a fifty-two week low of $486.73 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $563.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $559.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. The firm had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $763.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 47.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $625.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded MSCI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded MSCI from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.70.

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.