MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,034 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,726 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.61% of MSCI worth $286,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $609,937,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 16,353.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,557 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $352,539,000 after acquiring an additional 583,986 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of MSCI by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 507,413 shares of the technology company's stock worth $304,453,000 after acquiring an additional 319,083 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $185,003,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $126,082,000. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 2.0%

MSCI opened at $559.71 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $551.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $579.02. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $475.32 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $746.45 million. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents 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 this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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