Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $34.58 Million Stock Position in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its holdings in MSCI Inc by 4.9% by purchasing an additional 2,847 shares, bringing its total to 61,143 shares valued at approximately $34.58 million.
• Recent insider trading saw COO Cd Baer Pettit sell 5,000 shares for nearly $2.76 million, reducing their stake by 1.70% to around 289,787 shares.
• Analysts have given MSCI a consensus rating of Moderate Buy, with the average target price set at $654.73 following various adjustments from multiple investment firms.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,143 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of MSCI worth $34,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI during the first quarter worth $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 50.0% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 66 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted 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. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 9,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $544.70 per share, for a total transaction of $5,401,245.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,279,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $697,143,554.90. This trade represents a 0.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,400 shares of company stock worth $6,731,599 over the last 90 days. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSCI. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $650.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $578.00 to $533.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.73.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI traded up $8.91 on Thursday, hitting $568.06. 370,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,648. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $563.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.63. MSCI Inc has a 52 week low of $486.73 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $43.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.32.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $4.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $772.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.06 million. MSCI had a net margin of 39.46% and a negative return on equity of 143.13%. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

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.