Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,357 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,141 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of MSCI worth $255,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSCI. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in MSCI by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 165 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 3.6% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 572 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 1.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,630 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI opened at $470.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $528.77 and a 200 day moving average of $536.16. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $617.39.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $3.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.47 million. MSCI had a net margin of 44.55% and a negative return on equity of 121.86%. The company’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 14.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MSCI

In other news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total transaction of $4,245,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at $6,052,254.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $465.92 per share, with a total value of $6,056,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 327,479 shares in the company, valued at $152,579,015.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 9,000 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.69, for a total value of $4,245,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,052,254.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSCI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered MSCI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $671.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MSCI from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on MSCI in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $569.53.

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.