MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) COO Sells $2,621,250.00 in Stock

MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $550.28 on Thursday. 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 $564.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $587.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.14, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share 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 firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $641.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSCI. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MSCI

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.