GAMMA Investing LLC Has $285.89 Million Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 61,179.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,557 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 504,732 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.65% of MSCI worth $285,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. 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. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in MSCI by 147.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 89 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $645.36.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $566.74. 78,922 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,826. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $550.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $577.07. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $475.32 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. Sell-side analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.