Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 16,016 MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,016 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,610,000. MSCI accounts for approximately 6.1% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $609,937,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 507,413 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $304,453,000 after buying an additional 319,083 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,082,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its position in MSCI by 700.4% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after acquiring an additional 162,877 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $507.57 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $572.46 and its 200-day moving average is $588.18. The company has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.31.

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.