MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 80.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,720 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $20,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in MSCI by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MSCI stock traded up $9.86 on Monday, hitting $551.56. 59,435 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,029. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $562.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $586.85. The company has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45.

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MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This 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 this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $646.58.

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.