MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 75 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,215 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $3,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,644 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,587,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its stake in MSCI by 105.7% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 55,184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,363 shares during the last quarter. Ostrum Asset Management grew its holdings in MSCI by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 1,872 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in MSCI by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 4,281 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 69,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,696,000 after purchasing an additional 33,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.36.

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE:MSCI opened at $535.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $555.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $583.65. MSCI Inc. has a 52-week low of $458.69 and a 52-week high of $642.45. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.12. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. The firm had revenue of $745.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.45 million. On average, research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction 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 $729,599,549.01. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Company 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.