T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,787 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI - Free Report) by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,425 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in MSCI were worth $5,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in MSCI by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake 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 valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 21.9% during the fourth 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. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $546.57. The stock had a trading volume of 430,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $458.69 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $552.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $582.50.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.48%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company's stock, 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. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $645.36.

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.