MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Purchased by Ghe LLC

Ghe LLC boosted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,801 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. MSCI comprises 1.7% of Ghe LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 5,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in MSCI by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 80 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock traded up $18.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $464.81. 2,230,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,352. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $538.56. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $617.39. The firm has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.06.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 111.17% and a net margin of 45.42%. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.84 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $530.00 to $425.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $562.87.

MSCI Company 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.