1,226 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Acquired by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,226 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in MSCI by 5,600.0% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank increased its position in MSCI by 1,300.0% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 70 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $503.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.09. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $617.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $514.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $536.63.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $459.41 per share, with a total value of $3,445,575.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded MSCI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.53.

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.