MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stake Boosted by Norinchukin Bank The

Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,281 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in MSCI by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $546.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $558.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $585.69.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.92.

MSCI 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.