PDS Planning Inc Purchases 34 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 451 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in MSCI were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $568.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $583.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $588.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

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.