MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,208 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $593.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $583.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $537.35. The company has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.09. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.83.

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.