Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $2.57 Million Stock Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,285 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. MSCI makes up 0.1% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $542.26 on Monday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $562.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $586.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MSCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.58.

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.