Canoe Financial LP Acquires 162,877 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 700.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares during the period. MSCI makes up about 1.6% of Canoe Financial LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Canoe Financial LP owned about 0.24% of MSCI worth $111,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position 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 in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $612.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $603.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $573.14.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.02%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.67.

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.