Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Invests $7.20 Million in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,000 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $7,200,000. MSCI accounts for approximately 1.2% of Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the 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 trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:MSCI traded down $3.58 on Wednesday, reaching $563.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 359,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,773. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $475.32 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $43.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $550.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $578.37.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. Equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $645.36.

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.