Walter Public Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,265 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,634 shares during the quarter. MSCI makes up approximately 2.5% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in MSCI were worth $13,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSCI by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,396,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. FFT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MSCI by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 283,402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,044,000 after buying an additional 83,692 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSCI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $579.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $594.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $588.98.

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 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 51.21%.

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.