MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Raised by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,398 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,874 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of MSCI worth $43,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of MSCI by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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 issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $554.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $584.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $589.15.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $3.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

About MSCI

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.