MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Fernwood Investment Management LLC

Fernwood Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,354 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. MSCI makes up about 2.2% of Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $6,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of MSCI 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $505.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $565.85 and a 200 day moving average of $587.41. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is 51.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.