Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Buys New Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,016 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $9,610,000. MSCI accounts for about 6.1% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in MSCI by 46.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI stock traded down $19.93 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $529.40. The company had a trading volume of 204,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,742. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $564.12 and a 200 day moving average of $587.09.

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MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America began coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $646.58.

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.