11,219 Shares in MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) Purchased by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI Inc (NYSE:MSCI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,219 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,344,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in MSCI by 293.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised 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. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 289,787 shares in the company, valued at $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $570.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.32. MSCI Inc has a 52-week low of $486.74 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $565.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.46.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 145.52% and a net margin of 39.08%. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.45 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on MSCI from $655.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $651.55.

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.