Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Cuts Stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its stake in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,119 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in MSCI were worth $15,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of MSCI by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 44 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in MSCI during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in MSCI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in MSCI by 35.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MSCI by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 98 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Henry A. Fernandez bought 5,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $729,599,549.01. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Price Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $565.72 on Friday. MSCI Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.95 and a 12 month high of $642.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $579.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $588.55.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last announced 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 156.08% and a net margin of 38.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

MSCI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from MSCI’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. MSCI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSCI. Wolfe Research upgraded MSCI from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MSCI from $700.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of MSCI in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MSCI from $662.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MSCI from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $617.00 to $723.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.23.

MSCI 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.