53,402 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Purchased by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 53,402 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,042,000. MSCI makes up 1.0% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.07% of MSCI at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in MSCI by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,279,904,000 after acquiring an additional 318,214 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in MSCI by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $925,531,000 after acquiring an additional 198,666 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in MSCI by 700.4% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after acquiring an additional 162,877 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in MSCI by 358.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,900,000 after acquiring an additional 104,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MSCI. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $572.78 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The company has a market capitalization of $44.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.74, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $601.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $586.26.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.52%.

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.