Fiera Capital Corp Raises Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,148,615 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 49,679 shares during the period. MSCI accounts for approximately 2.2% of Fiera Capital Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 1.47% of MSCI worth $689,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 120.0% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in MSCI in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MSCI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MSCI opened at $572.05 on Thursday. MSCI Inc. has a 12-month low of $439.95 and a 12-month high of $642.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $604.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $586.25.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 45.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSCI shares. Wolfe Research raised MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.23.

Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. This trade represents a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.20% 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.