MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 65.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,211 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in MSCI were worth $2,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,887,000 after buying an additional 2,513 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,897,456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,136,563,000 after buying an additional 35,094 shares during the period. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its stake in MSCI by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 116,611 shares of the technology company's stock worth $69,968,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of MSCI by 187.8% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 196,148 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $117,691,000 after purchasing an additional 128,001 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 249,035 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $149,423,000 after acquiring an additional 39,978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.23.

MSCI Trading Down 5.6 %

MSCI traded down $32.04 on Thursday, hitting $543.92. The company had a trading volume of 631,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,712. The firm has a market cap of $42.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $574.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $588.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 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 yield of 1.32%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 51.21%.

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.