Quarry LP Decreases Position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI)

Quarry LP decreased its position in MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 446 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in MSCI were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 4.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC grew its holdings in MSCI by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 3,325 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSCI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on MSCI in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $585.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on MSCI from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MSCI from $680.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on MSCI from $673.00 to $631.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of MSCI in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Cd Baer Pettit sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.25, for a total transaction of $2,621,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 294,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $154,542,084.75. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Henry A. Fernandez acquired 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $574.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,044,903.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,269,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $729,599,549.01. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

MSCI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSCI opened at $535.66 on Monday. MSCI Inc. has a one year low of $458.69 and a one year high of $642.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $555.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $583.54. The company has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $745.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $746.45 million. MSCI had a net margin of 38.83% and a negative return on equity of 156.08%. Analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.80 dividend. This represents a $7.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MSCI’s payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

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.