MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Shares Sold by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC decreased its position in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,032,434 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 163,205 shares during the quarter. MSCI accounts for about 3.5% of Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $1,219,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in MSCI in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,610,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 339,526 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $203,710,000 after purchasing an additional 92,213 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of MSCI by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 533 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $876,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MSCI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,683,000. 89.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MSCI Stock Performance

MSCI stock opened at $507.57 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $439.95 and a 1 year high of $642.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $572.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $588.40. The company has a market cap of $39.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 156.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MSCI from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MSCI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $647.31.

Insider Transactions at MSCI

In other MSCI news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

About MSCI

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.