Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 1,663 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 65.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,211 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in MSCI by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 0.3 %

MSCI stock opened at $566.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $576.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $588.99. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

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.