Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Boosts Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 96.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 868 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in MSCI were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Conning Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position 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 worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 5.0% in 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 last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of MSCI by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of MSCI by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 2.1 %

MSCI stock opened at $596.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $561.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $522.99. The company has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.55 by $0.09. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 143.09% and a net margin of 43.86%. The firm had revenue of $707.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $696.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on MSCI from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on MSCI from $526.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MSCI from $615.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $598.07.

MSCI Company 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.