Norden Group LLC Purchases New Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,256 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,386,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth about $496,541,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in MSCI by 803.9% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 587,978 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $331,906,000 after purchasing an additional 522,926 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 3,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 253,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $143,469,000 after purchasing an additional 246,781 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 959,894 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $492,502,000 after purchasing an additional 235,290 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of MSCI by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,460,634 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $749,422,000 after purchasing an additional 179,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 13,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $465.92 per share, for a total transaction of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,579,015.68. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $491.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.10. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $439.95 and a 52-week high of $617.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $486.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $529.92.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 121.86% and a net margin of 44.55%. The business had revenue of $680.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MSCI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MSCI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $613.00 to $569.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MSCI from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $425.00 to $525.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on MSCI from $700.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on MSCI from $615.00 to $526.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MSCI has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.53.

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.