Quantbot Technologies LP Has $1.89 Million Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,141 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,315 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in MSCI were worth $1,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,307 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in MSCI by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 15,400 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,240,000 after purchasing an additional 5,698 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MSCI by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,258 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in MSCI by 316.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 108,486 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,093,000 after buying an additional 82,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,542 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,926,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $649.23.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $5.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $569.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 455,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,776. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $580.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $588.71. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

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

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.