1,193 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Acquired by Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,193 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its position 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in MSCI by 122.7% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MSCI traded down $2.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $563.57. The stock had a trading volume of 631,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,941. The firm has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $578.04. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.32 and a twelve month high of $642.45.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $645.36.

About MSCI

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.