MSCI Inc (MSCI) will raise its quarterly dividend by 14.7 percent to $0.78 per share in 2020. This comes after a 17.2 percent dividend hike by MSCI last year. The indices and ratings company has now hiked its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

The third quarter 2019 dividend will be payable on August 31, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of trading on August 14, 2020. A new annual rate of $3.12 per share yields 0.8% at a stock price of $376.

MSCI's stock price is up 53.2 percent in 2020, following a 75.1 percent increase in 2019. This huge stock price gain translates into a current market cap of $31.7 billion for the company. The annual dividend payment now is approximately $261 million.

The company started paying a dividend in 2014 and has raised its payment by at least double digits every year since. However this year's dividend hike is the smallest since 2014. The biggest dividend increase was announced by MSCI in 2018, when the quarterly payment was boosted by a whopping 52.6 percent. The average dividend increase over the last five years is 28.8 percent.

MSCI Inc. offers products and services to support the needs of institutional investors throughout their investment processes. The company produces indices and risk and return portfolio analytics for use in managing investment portfolios. MSCI was a pioneer in developing the market for global equity indexes. The company began licensing its first equity index products in 1969 and has paid a dividend to shareholders every year since 2014.