Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Has $44.19 Million Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,647 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,975 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. owned about 0.09% of MSCI worth $44,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in MSCI by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $546.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $559.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $585.92. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $643.92.

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.

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