Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,602 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $6,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in MSCI by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,630 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE:MSCI traded up $13.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $477.78. 1,040,942 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 758,208. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $541.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $537.78. The company has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.69%.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $459.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,705,767.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit acquired 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $459.41 per share, with a total value of $3,445,575.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,705,767.58. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,579,015.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $620.00 to $470.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $562.87.

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.