MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by Teza Capital Management LLC

Teza Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 93.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,576 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 63 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 69 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.36.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $552.59, for a total value of $2,762,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 289,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,133,398.33. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MSCI Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:MSCI opened at $571.26 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $475.32 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $550.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $579.20.

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

MSCI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.48%.

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.