BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 906.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,268 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,581 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $39,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 4.1% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 479 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 542 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 423 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $640.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $631.83.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $581.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $585.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.70. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $631.70.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

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

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.