Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 16,353.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 587,557 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 583,986 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.75% of MSCI worth $352,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $609,937,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in MSCI by 169.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 507,413 shares of the technology company's stock worth $304,453,000 after acquiring an additional 319,083 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $126,082,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 700.4% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $10.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $552.22. 79,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,052. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $562.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $586.85. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 39.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $646.58.

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.