FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New Investment in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,822 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,162,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in MSCI by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 165 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in MSCI by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 3.6% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 572 shares of the technology company's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,630 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $467.04. 826,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,270. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $532.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.09. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The business had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 earnings per share. MSCI's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. MSCI's payout ratio is 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit purchased 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $459.41 per share, with a total value of $3,445,575.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at $133,705,767.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of MSCI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $569.53.

MSCI 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.