Vanderbilt University Acquires 1,236 Shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Vanderbilt University boosted its position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,614 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for approximately 0.7% of Vanderbilt University's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Vanderbilt University's holdings in MSCI were worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in MSCI by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 256 shares of the technology company's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 84.9% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the technology company's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 1,300.8% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 23,337 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,002,000 after buying an additional 21,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 4,878 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,927,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 value of $2,762,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,787 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $645.36.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI traded up $1.07 on Friday, reaching $544.79. 666,095 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 505,938. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $554.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $573.23. The firm has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc has a 12 month low of $478.33 and a 12 month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.08% and a negative return on equity of 145.52%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 49.48%.

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.