J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

by · The Markets Daily

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,762 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,057,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 174,982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,991,000 after purchasing an additional 41,346 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in MSCI by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 536,211 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $312,574,000 after acquiring an additional 23,050 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3,581.3% during the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 255.4% in the 4th quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $539.00 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $557.43 and a 200 day moving average of $584.95. The stock has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $643.92.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSCI

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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