Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 276,297 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,360 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.35% of MSCI worth $165,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.23.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $32.11 on Thursday, reaching $543.85. 396,040 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,917. The company has a 50-day moving average of $576.12 and a 200-day moving average of $588.91. The company has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a positive change from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

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.