EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 43 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 406 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MSCI by 120.0% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in MSCI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal 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 Up 2.5 %

MSCI opened at $554.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $584.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $589.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

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.