AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.83 Million Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,053 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in MSCI by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $562.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $590.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $590.00. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.95 and a fifty-two week high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $43.64 billion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. Analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.