Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,966 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,180,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $0.30 on Tuesday, hitting $572.93. The stock had a trading volume of 637,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,080. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $600.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $587.04.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 45.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $649.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.