MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Bought by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,850 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,610 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of MSCI worth $80,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in MSCI by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,493,534 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $870,627,000 after buying an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in MSCI by 26.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 919 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in MSCI by 76.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,117,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in MSCI by 47.5% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in MSCI by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 536,211 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $312,574,000 after purchasing an additional 23,050 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $543.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $560.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $586.17.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share 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 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.80 dividend. This is a boost from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. MSCI’s payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Activity

In other MSCI news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSCI. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.92.

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.