MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Bennett Selby Investments LP

Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,382 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,897,456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,136,563,000 after buying an additional 35,094 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,613,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $967,820,000 after purchasing an additional 119,471 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,148,615 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $689,180,000 after purchasing an additional 49,679 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $609,937,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 853,452 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $512,079,000 after acquiring an additional 25,325 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $568.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $550.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $576.56. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.32 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The business had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. Equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is 49.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped 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. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

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.