MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Position Raised by Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 122.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of 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 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.23.

MSCI Stock Up 0.4 %

MSCI stock traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $608.02. The company had a trading volume of 267,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,781. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $574.28 and a 200-day moving average of $526.56. The firm has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $707.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.41 million. MSCI had a net margin of 43.86% and a negative return on equity of 143.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

MSCI 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.