MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Icon Wealth Advisors LLC

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 311.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,426 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,434 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $9,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $581.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $585.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $3.86 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.