MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 339,526 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 92,213 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.43% of MSCI worth $203,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI traded down $19.93 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $529.40. 204,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 566,742. The business's 50-day moving average price is $564.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $587.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45.

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MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This is an increase from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. MSCI's payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.