MQS Management LLC Takes Position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 752 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in MSCI by 122.6% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 289,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $8.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $580.78. The company had a trading volume of 647,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,893. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.74 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $566.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $568.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 39.08% and a negative return on equity of 145.52%. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. On average, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $651.55.

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.