MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,471 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in MSCI were worth $7,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSCI by 0.9% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 target price for the company. Four 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.85.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $594.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $606.56 and a 200 day moving average of $581.42. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 43.06% and a negative return on equity of 162.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.