Inceptionr LLC Invests $1.22 Million in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 2,029 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. LRI Investments LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI opened at $565.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.94 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $590.97 and a 200-day moving average of $589.81. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.