Stephens Inc. AR Has $1.93 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,303 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its position in MSCI by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in MSCI by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,308 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in MSCI by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,275 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $577.95 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $580.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $530.33. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $631.70. The stock has a market cap of $45.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. MSCI’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.91 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 42.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.83.

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.