Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 40,246 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,663 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,246 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.29% of MSCI worth $136,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company's stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI stock traded down $2.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $533.25. The company had a trading volume of 65,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,076. The company has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $458.69 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $555.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $583.54.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $585.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.