Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $3.59 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,983 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $3,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Norges Bank bought a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $609,937,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 16,353.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $352,539,000 after purchasing an additional 583,986 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 507,413 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $304,453,000 after purchasing an additional 319,083 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $185,003,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI during the 4th quarter worth $126,082,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 289,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MSCI Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $556.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $475.32 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $548.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $579.73.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The company had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.45 million. On average, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSCI shares. Barclays dropped their price target on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.36.

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.