Allianz SE Takes Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Allianz SE bought a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,075 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,444,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $609,937,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,082,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in MSCI by 700.4% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,722,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $558.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $578.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $588.73.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

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.