Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys 201 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 868 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Up 0.1 %

MSCI stock opened at $572.93 on Wednesday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $600.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $587.04. The stock has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, with a total value of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.