MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,684 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Markel Corp lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 141,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,258,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of MSCI by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the first quarter valued at approximately $701,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

MSCI opened at $510.07 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $451.55 and a 12-month high of $617.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $552.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.16.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The business had revenue of $690.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $662.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSCI. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $581.57.

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.