ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,995 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in MSCI were worth $10,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 125.0% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 99 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of MSCI traded down $11.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $559.71. 509,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 521,389. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $551.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $579.16. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $475.32 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.31 billion, a PE 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 earnings results 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. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's payout ratio is 49.48%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSCI. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $645.36.

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.