MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by BDF Gestion

BDF Gestion cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,668 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MSCI by 0.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of MSCI by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of MSCI by 35.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MSCI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 89.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSCI Price Performance

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $590.36 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1-year low of $439.95 and a 1-year high of $642.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $606.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $581.51. The company has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.11.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 168.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MSCI Inc. will post 16.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSCI. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on MSCI from $695.00 to $680.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MSCI from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 owns 330,379 shares in the company, valued at $202,456,251.20. The trade was a 0.89 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.