MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Holdings Boosted by Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,003 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MSCI by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Up 2.7 %

MSCI opened at $542.26 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $562.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $586.71.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 1.33%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.21%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This 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 at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 $729,599,549.01. The trade was 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on MSCI from $623.00 to $532.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.58.

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.