MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Stock Holdings Boosted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,730 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgewood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MSCI by 16.9% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,195,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,904,000 after purchasing an additional 318,214 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,003,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,082,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of MSCI by 14.3% during 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 buying an additional 198,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 162,877 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Stock Up 2.5 %

MSCI opened at $554.92 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $584.61 and a 200-day moving average of $589.09.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS 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 last year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.