Forsta AP Fonden Buys 5,600 Shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,400 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in MSCI were worth $17,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSCI. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in MSCI during the 2nd quarter worth $870,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of MSCI by 37.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,295 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of MSCI by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MSCI by 40.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,079,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in MSCI by 511.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $690.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $680.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $612.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,777,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $594.33 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $606.56 and its 200 day moving average is $581.42. The firm has a market cap of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.11. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $439.95 and a one year high of $642.45.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 162.06% and a net margin of 43.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.