MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Holdings Lifted by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,239 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,502 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of MSCI worth $87,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of MSCI by 803.9% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 587,978 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $331,906,000 after purchasing an additional 522,926 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSCI by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 762,080 shares of the technology company's stock worth $391,008,000 after purchasing an additional 284,513 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 959,894 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $492,502,000 after purchasing an additional 235,290 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MSCI by 468.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 244,267 shares of the technology company's stock worth $125,329,000 after purchasing an additional 201,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 14.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,460,634 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $749,422,000 after buying an additional 179,508 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $11.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $482.50. 749,716 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,265. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $526.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $535.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The business's revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 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 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. MSCI's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,052,254.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit acquired 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded MSCI from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $620.00 to $470.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded MSCI from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $425.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $569.53.

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.