Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 131 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,647 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSCI. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,279,904,000 after buying an additional 318,214 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,082,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in MSCI by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,587,723 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $925,531,000 after purchasing an additional 198,666 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in MSCI by 700.4% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 186,131 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,680,000 after purchasing an additional 162,877 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,722,000. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MSCI opened at $587.87 on Tuesday. MSCI Inc. has a twelve month low of $439.95 and a twelve month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $593.39 and its 200 day moving average is $590.05.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, with a total value 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 $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.23.

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.