MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stake Boosted by Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,003 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 746 shares during the period. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $609,937,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 16,353.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $352,539,000 after acquiring an additional 583,986 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in MSCI by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 507,413 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $304,453,000 after purchasing an additional 319,083 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,003,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth about $126,082,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI traded up $5.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $556.53. 361,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,009. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $43.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $561.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $586.67.

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MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSCI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.