Diversified Trust Co Raises Stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,820 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in MSCI were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 147.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 89 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI traded up $11.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $576.90. The company had a trading volume of 879,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,899. The firm has a market cap of $44.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc has a 1-year low of $478.33 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $556.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $571.13.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. On average, analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.