Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Invests $338,000 in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 564 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 transaction 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. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MSCI traded down $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $556.15. 379,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,600. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $475.32 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $548.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $579.73.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 49.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $645.36.

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.