MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. grew its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,571 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the quarter. MSCI accounts for about 1.4% of Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in MSCI by 293.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew 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 valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 125.0% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 99 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI opened at $572.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $550.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $579.22. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $475.32 and a 12 month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. Analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.48%.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total transaction of $2,762,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.36.

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.