536 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Purchased by PUREfi Wealth LLC

PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 536 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $1,180,000. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 413 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in MSCI by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,148,615 shares of the technology company's stock worth $689,180,000 after purchasing an additional 49,679 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $649.23.

MSCI Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $574.18. The stock had a trading volume of 608,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 548,602. The company has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $599.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $587.27.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.