Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $10.06 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,792 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. MSCI comprises 1.1% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in MSCI were worth $10,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of MSCI by 803.9% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 587,978 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $331,906,000 after buying an additional 522,926 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 59.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 762,080 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $391,008,000 after purchasing an additional 284,513 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 32.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 959,894 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $492,502,000 after purchasing an additional 235,290 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 468.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 244,267 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $125,329,000 after purchasing an additional 201,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in MSCI by 14.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,460,634 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $749,422,000 after buying an additional 179,508 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI traded up $5.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $515.10. 914,734 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 466,590. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $451.55 and a 52-week high of $617.39. The firm has a market cap of $40.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $550.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $539.55.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The company had revenue of $690.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $662.64 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. MSCI’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $581.57.

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.