MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Position Increased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,741 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,123 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.08% of MSCI worth $35,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $646.58.

MSCI Trading Up 2.7 %

MSCI traded up $14.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $542.26. 464,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 569,462. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $562.15 and a 200 day moving average of $586.71. The stock has a market cap of $42.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from MSCI's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

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.