GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd Takes Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 68,019 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,812,000. MSCI accounts for about 14.3% of GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd owned about 0.09% of MSCI at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 2.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $870,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 3.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 4,032.2% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. increased its holdings in MSCI by 15.3% in the third quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $568.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $583.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $588.95. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.