Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,729 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,632 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of MSCI worth $73,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 44,070 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,442,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund increased its position in MSCI by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 78,111 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,867,000 after purchasing an additional 23,649 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $176,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of MSCI by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 69,095 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,458,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares during the period. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its holdings in MSCI by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 2,921 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $558.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $578.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $588.55. The stock has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

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.