9,949 Shares in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,949 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,576,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 767,297 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $393,686,000 after buying an additional 7,183 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in MSCI by 1,151.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,420 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,294,000 after purchasing an additional 5,907 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in MSCI by 27.7% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 737 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,158,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MSCI by 126.6% in the third quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit bought 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 291,038 shares in the company, valued at $133,705,767.58. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSCI traded up $8.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $501.72. 664,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 584,316. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $488.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $527.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.14 earnings per share. MSCI’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $638.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $571.20.

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.