Capital International Sarl Reduces Stock Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Capital International Sarl lowered its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,440 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in MSCI were worth $2,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in MSCI in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of MSCI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in MSCI by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in MSCI by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MSCI stock opened at $546.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. MSCI Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.95 and a 52 week high of $642.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $558.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $585.72.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.22. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.80 per share. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, with a total value of $3,044,903.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total value of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MSCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of MSCI in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MSCI from $532.00 to $530.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MSCI has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $643.92.

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.