Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC Has $45.58 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lessened its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,967 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,746 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC owned about 0.10% of MSCI worth $45,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $12.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $568.76. 371,057 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,805. The company's fifty day moving average is $548.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $579.66. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $475.32 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. Research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSCI shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $645.36.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.