Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Purchases Shares of 293 MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 293 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in MSCI by 122.7% during the fourth 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 period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MSCI opened at $569.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $580.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $588.71. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

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.