Argentarii LLC Makes New $399,000 Investment in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 706 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $587.34 on Friday. MSCI Inc has a one year low of $486.74 and a one year high of $642.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $561.21 and its 200 day moving average is $569.92. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.32.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 39.08% and a negative return on equity of 145.52%. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.36.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.