First Trust Advisors LP Has $14.04 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc $MSCI

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) by 73.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,046 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,051 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $14,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 341.7% during the 4th quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 53 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $575.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $596.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $576.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. MSCI Inc has a twelve month low of $501.08 and a twelve month high of $644.77.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.99 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $867.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.71 million. MSCI had a net margin of 40.74% and a negative return on equity of 55.19%. MSCI’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $2.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 44.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore set a $722.00 price objective on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $742.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $690.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $709.50.

MSCI Company Profile

MSCI Inc is a global provider of investment decision support tools and services for the financial industry. The company is best known for its family of market indexes, which are widely used as benchmarks by asset managers and as the basis for exchange-traded funds and other passive products. In addition to index construction and licensing, MSCI offers portfolio analytics, risk models, factor and performance attribution tools, and a suite of data and technology solutions designed to support portfolio management and trading.

Beyond traditional indexing and risk analytics, MSCI has expanded into environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and ratings, offering data, scores and screening tools that help investors integrate sustainability considerations into investment processes.